DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

DURHAM,  N.  C. 


Rec'd 


" .4.     «=r» 


mr 


^3 . 


<& 


r 


,.i 


PUBLISHED    AS    AN 
AFFECTIONATE  TRIBUTE 


BY  THE 


Edenton  Street  M.  E.  Church,  South 


AND  THE 


Edenton  Street  Sunday  School 

of  RALEIGH,  N.  C. 


I  1  Q  O 


PRESSES    OF 

Mitchell  Printing  Company 
rai.eigii,  n.  c. 


1 1 1  f/'!':  ' 

-Lujfc 


V-Q-' 


H  8 


Joseph  G.  Brown 


* 


1  I  o  ^ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/josephgbrown185400rale 


9  2  3,  5*7  3 

8  S7  ? 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Foreword  9 

Introductory  Word  11 

Joseph  G.  Brown  (From  the  Church  Bulletin) 17 

Address  of  Dr.  W.  P.  Few 23 

Address  of  Hon.  Josephus  Daniels 29 

Address  of  S.  Wade  Marr 37 

A  Tribute  to  Mr.  Brown  (By  W.  M.  Upchurch,  Jr.) 43 

Address  of  Mr.  John  A.  Park 49 

Address  of  Chief  Justice  W.  P.  Stacy 53 

Presentation  of  Mr.  Brown's  Picture  (Cale  K.  Burgess) 61 

Address  of  Rev.  W.  A.  Stanbury 65 

Resolutions  : 

Adopted  by  the  Board  of  Stewards 73 

Adopted  by  First  Quarterly  Conference 74 

Adopted  by  Edenton  Street  Methodist  Sunday  School 75 

Adopted    by    the    Mothers'    Department    of    the    Sunday 
School   78 

Adopted  by  the  Workers'  Council  of  the  Sunday  School....  79 


(J  o  reword 


HOW  THIS  BOOK  CAME  TO  BE  PUBLISHED 

ON  SUNDAY,  February  6,  1927,  Chief  Justice  W.  P.  Stacy, 
in  his  address  to  the  Baraca-Wesley  Class  of  Edenton  Street 
Sunday  School,  paid  tribute  to  the  life  and  service  of 
Mr.  Joseph  G.  Brown.  A  stenographic  report  of  that  address 
was  made,  so  that  members  of  Mr.  Brown's  family  might  have  an 
opportunity  to  read  it. 

Before  many  days  the  suggestion  was  made  that  this  address  be 
printed,  and  a  committee  from  the  Baraca-Wesley  Class  was 
appointed  to  have  this  done.  But  many  other  tributes  were  paid 
Mr.  Brown,  and  the  suggestion  followed  that  all  such  papers  in 
any  way  coming  from  Edenton  Street  Church  and  Sunday  School 
should  be  printed  in  a  single  volume,  and  a  committee  representing 
the  Baraca-Wesley  Class,  the  Sunday  School  as  a  whole,  and  the 
Board  of  Stewards  for  the  entire  membership  of  the  Church,  was 
appointed. 

We  have  collected  these  papers  in  as  nearly  the  form  in  which 
they  were  originally  given  as  possible,  and  in  accordance  with  our 
request  Reverend  W.  A.  Stanbury  has  written  an  Introductory 
Word,  giving  the  facts  of  Mr.  Brown's  life  in  outline. 

To   the  membership   of   Edenton    Street    Church    and    Sunday 

School,  and  to  the  community  in  general,  we  present  the  results 

of  our  effort  in  the  prayer  and  hope  that  this  volume  may  serve 

to  fix  even  more  securely  the  place  which  the  memory  of  Mr.  Brown 

universally   holds    among   us,    and   to    enforce   forever    the   high 

principles  of  Christian  manhood  and  of  faith  in  God  and  man  by 

which  he  lived. 

Dan  W.  Teeey,  Chairman 

Miss  Blanche  Barringek,  Secretary 

N".  C.  JSTewbold 

D.  M.  Penny 

Jno.  A.  Pare 

C.  C.  Cunningham 

W.  G.  Womble 

Committee. 


Introductory  clo)  o  r  d 


THE  PAPEKS  Printed  in  this  little  book  are  the  tributes  paid 
to  Mr.  Joseph  G.  Brown  by  members  and  organizations  of 
Edenton  Street  Methodist  Church,  Raleigh,  following  his 
death,  January  30,  1927.  There  is  included  also  the  address  of 
Dr.  W.  P.  Few,  President  of  Duke  University,  delivered  at  the 
funeral  service  held  in  the  Church,  Monday,  January  31,  at  4 
o'clock.  To  these  have  been  added  a  few  paragraphs  which  were 
printed  on  the  last  page  of  our  Sunday  Bulletin  for  February  6, 
1927,  and  an  address  delivered  at  a  memorial  service  at  Duke 
University,  February  23.  It  will  be  recalled  in  this  connection 
that  Mr.  Brown  was  for  thirty  years  a  trustee  and  for  ten  years 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Duke  University.  Since 
these  collected  papers  do  not  give,  because  their  nature  does  not 
allow  them,  any  ordered  historical  account  of  Mr.  Brown's  life,  a 
brief  summary  of  the  main  facts  are  set  down  here. 

Joseph  Gill  Brown  was  born  in  Raleigh,  November  5,  1854, 
the  son  of  Henry  Jerome  and  Lydia  Lane  Brown.  He  was  next  to 
the  youngest  of  a  family  of  fourteen  children.  His  great-grand- 
father on  the  maternal  side  was  James  Lane,  a  brother  of  Joel 
Lane,  the  original  owner  of  the  site  of  Raleigh.  His  mother  was 
born  on  the  farm  on  which  Raleigh  now  stands. 

He  received  his  early  education  in  private  school  at  Lovejoy 
Academy.  In  1871  he  entered  Trinity  College,  then  located  in 
Randolph  County,  there  coming  under  the  influence  of  Dr.  Braxton 
Craven,  who  was  president  of  that  institution.  He  continued  here 
as  a  student  for  two  years,  and  in  1873  became  connected  with  the 
Citizens  National  Bank  of  Raleigh.  In  1883  he  was  elected  cashier 
of  the  bank,  and  in  1894  became  president,  continuing  in  the  latter 
office  until  his  death.  He  was  also  at  the  time  of  his  death  presi- 
dent of  the  Raleigh  Savings  Bank  and  Trust  Company,  the  oldest 
savings  bank  in  North  Carolina. 

He  was  identified  with  public  affairs  as  few  men  of  his  genera- 
tion, serving  with  distinction  in  every  position  for  which  he  was 
chosen.    He  was  at  one  time  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen 


Introductory    cls)  o  r  d — (3  ontinued 


of  the  Capital  City,  and  for  twenty-eight  years  he  served  as  City 
Treasurer.  He  served  as  president  of  the  Raleigh  Associated 
Charities,  president  of  the  Raleigh  Chamber  of  Commerce,  presi- 
dent of  the  Raleigh  Clearing  House  Association,  and  president 
of  the  State  Bankers'  Association.  While  the  Jefferson  Standard 
Life  Insurance  Company  held  its  main  offices  in  Raleigh  he 
served  as  president  of  that  organization.  He  was  for  nine  years 
a  member  of  the  Executive  Council  of  the  American  Bankers' 
Association.  He  served  as  vice-president,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  was  president,  of  the  Atlantic  Fire  Insurance  Company. 
He  was  a  trustee  of  the  Olivia  Rainey  Library  and  trustee  and 
treasurer  of  the  Methodist  Orphanage.  He  was  director  of  the 
Carolina  Southern  Railway  Company,  and  served  as  president  of 
the  company  until  the  Government  took  over  the  railroads  in 
1917.  He  was  chairman  of  the  State  Hospitals  Board  in  charge 
of  the  State  hospitals  for  the  insane  and  the  Caswell  Training 
School.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Columbia  group  of  the  Pan- 
American  Financial  Conference.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Advisory 
Council  of  the  Federal  Reserve  System,  and  during  the  war  was 
chairman  of  the  local  executive  committee  of  the  Red  Cross  and 
chairman  of  the  State  Liberty  Loan  Committee  during  all  of  the 
five  campaigns.  He  was  at  one  time  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  in  this  State.  He  always  stood  ready  to 
serve,  and  in  many  ways,  of  which  the  public  did  not  know,  did 
serve,  the  State  of  which  he  was  a  native  and  loyal  citizen.  The 
present  standing  of  the  government  of  North  Carolina  in  the 
financial  world  is  perhaps  more  due  to  the  influence  and  work  of 
Mr.  Brown  than  to  that  of  any  other  private  citizen. 

But  there  was  no  other  connection  which  he  prized  so  much  as 
that  with  his  Church.  For  sixty- five  years  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Sunday  School  of  Edenton  Street  Church.  For  fifty-eight  years 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Church,  and  for  fifty  years' a  steward. 
For  twenty-seven  years,  and  for  twenty-three  years  consecutively, 
he  was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School. 

[12] 


Introductory   clo)  o  r  d — (3  oncluded 


His  last  act  upon  this  earth  was  to  make  the  announcement  of 
the  names  of  two  children  who  were  on  that  Sunday,  January  30, 
being  received  as  Cradle  Eoll  members  of  the  Sunday  School. 
Immediately  after  this  he  was  stricken  with  apoplexy  and  died  the 
same  afternoon  at  5  o'clock. 

On  November  10,  1881,  Mr.  Brown  was  married  to  Miss  Alice 
Burkhead,  daughter  of  Dr.  L.  S.  Burkhead,  an  honored  member 
of  the  North  Carolina  Conference  and  for  four  years  pastor  of 
Edenton  Street  Church.  Mrs.  Brown  survives  him,  as  do  their 
four  children:  Miss  Bessie  Brown,  Mrs.  J.  K.  Doughton,  R.  A. 
Brown,  and  Frank  B.  Brown.  He  is  also  survived  by  his  sister, 
Miss  Janie  Brown,  who  lives  with  Mrs.  Brown. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  in  these  introductory  paragraphs  to 
appraise  the  life  and  work  of  Mr.  Brown  or  to  analyze  the  qualities 
which  combined  to  produce  his  greatness.  In  some  measure  the 
papers  which  follow  perform  this  duty,  though  none  of  them,  nor 
all  of  them  together,  nor  any  of  the  words  which  have  been  spoken 
and  written  elsewhere,  give  any  adequate  account  of  the  nobility  or 
power  or  lovableness  of  this  Christian  gentleman  and  servant  of 
God. 

I  rejoice  to  have  been  permitted  to  take  part  in  this  labor  of  love. 

W.  A.  Stanbury. 


[13] 


Joseph  G.  Brown 

FROM  THE  BULLETIN 

of 

EDENTON  STREET  METHODIST  CHURCH 

SUNDAY,  FEBRUARY  6,  1927 


JOSEPH  G.  BROWN 

From  The  Bulletin  of  Edenton  Street  Methodist  Church  for 
Sunday,  February  6,  1927. 

The  business  world  thought  of  him  as  head  of  a  great  banking 
institution  and  as  trusted  adviser  for  many  corporations.  The 
educational  world  thought  of  him  as  the  patron  of  sound  learning, 
and  as  president  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Duke  University. 
Those  intimately  acquainted  with  civic  affairs  thought  of  him  as 
a  public  servant,  who  in  quiet  and  unrewarded  ways  brought  his 
great  ability  and  wisdom  to  the  aid  of  those  charged  with  carrying 
on  the  State's  business.  In  social  circles  everywhere  he  was  looked 
upon  as  a  gentleman  of  surpassing  charm  and  worth. 

But  we  knew  him  as  a  part  of  the  life  of  Edenton  Street 
Church.  For  sixty-five  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Sunday 
School.  For  fifty-eight  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Church,  and 
for  fifty  years  a  Steward.  For  twenty-seven  years,  and  for 
twenty-three  years  continuously,  he  was  Superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  School.  ISTone  of  us  now  living  have  ever  known  Edenton 
Street  Church  or  thought  of  it  without  him.  He  was  the  living 
personification,  as  he  was  the  dominating  spirit,  of  our  Sunday 
School.  There  is  no  department  or  phase  of  our  life  as  a  Church 
which  does  not  bear  the  touch  and  in  one  way  or  another  express 
the  spirit  of  his  life. 

But  chiefly  we  kneAv  him  as  our  friend.  Probably  he  had  the 
greatest  capacity  for  friendship  of  any  man  whom  most  of  us  have 
known.  He  was  the  valued  friend  of  great  and  learned  men ;  like- 
wise many  in  humble,  hidden  station  reckoned  him  the  best  friend 
they  had.  Men  who  handled  millions  listened  eagerly  to  his  advice, 
and  followed  it.  Widows  with  only  a  scrap  of  savings  left  after 
expenses  of  sickness  and  burial  had  been  paid,  found  him  with  time 
to  aid  them,  cheer  them,  and  arrange  for  their  protection.  Boys 
and  girls  that  wanted  an  education  found  him  ready  to  help  them 
with  their  problem.     Children  left  without  father  or  mother  or 


Joseph   (y.    ©  r  o  w  n 


home  found  in  him  a  father  who  claimed  them  for  his  special 
charge.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  of  them  standing  at  sad  attention 
lined  the  street  as  the  funeral  procession  approached  the  Church. 
Boys  and  men  that  had  gone  wrong  and  stumbled  in  the  mire  and 
snares  of  sin  went  to  him  with  their  discouragement  and  grief, 
and  found  him  patient  and  full  of  comfort.  He  was  everybody's 
friend ;  even  those  who  knew  him  but  slightly  felt  intuitively  that 
he  was  their  friend.  When  we  brought  his  body  to  the  Church 
last  Monday  afternoon,  men  and  women  of  the  highest  station 
mingled  their  tears  with  the  tears  of  people  whom  life  has  struck 
its  hardest  blows ;  the  great  throng  had  lost  a  friend. 

But  he  was  pre-eminently  the  friend  and  companion  of  young 
people.  For  seventy—three  years  he  was  young  in  spirit,  open  to 
fresh  ideas,  in  understanding  sympathy  with  the  hopes  and  view- 
point of  youth.  He  gave  them  the  warmth  and  radiance  of  his 
affection;  in  turn  they  gave  him  their  confidence  and  stood  ready 
to  follow  him  anywhere.  Countless  hundreds  of  them  through 
the  years  have  felt  the  sweetness  and  power  of  his  soul,  and  have 
gone  out  all  over  the  earth  to  be  stronger,  better  people  because 
they  have  known  him,  and  to  count  their  fellowship  with  him  as 
one  of  their  dearest  possessions.  He  never  knew  a  single  day  of 
old  age;  all  of  life  was  for  him  an  ascent,  never  a  decline.  He 
was  standing  at  the  highest  point  he  had  yet  reached  when  he 
stepped  up  into  the  world  above  but  still  so  near  this. 

And  let  it  be  remembered  that  his  life  was  saturated  with  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  There  was  no  interest  or  concern  that 
was  held  apart  from  the  transforming  influence  of  this  experience 
and  his  tolerant  but  zealous  faith.  From  crowded  days  he  caught 
time  to  cultivate  the  knowledge  of  God  and  fellowship  with  His 
Son.  It  was  most  real  to  him,  but  as  far  removed  from  boast  or 
pretending  as  possible.  It  was  his  habit  of  many  years  to  arrive 
at  the  Church  some  time  before  the  Sunday  School  hour,  and, 
having  said  good-morning  to  any  who  had  come  early,  to  go  to  his 
pew   in   the   Church   and   spend    a   while   in   Bible   reading    and 


[18] 


Joseph   (j.    ^B  r  o  w  n 


prayer,  in  preparation  for  the  worship  and  service  of  the  day. 
No  week-day  was  begun  or  ended  without  the  upward  look  and 
moments  of  communion.  He  never  seemed  to  lack  strength  or  to 
suffer  confusion. 

In  the  Sunday  School  building,  where  he  had  found  his  greatest 
joy  in  laboring,  and  where  his  last  act  had  been  to  announce  the 
Cradle  Roll  membership  of  two  newly-born  babies,  he  spent  his 
last  conscious  moment.  Just  as  the  chimes  were  ringing  out  their 
invitation  to  come  and  worship,  the  call  came  to  him.  It  found 
him  ready.  Could  he  have  ordered  the  manner  of  his  going,  it 
would  not  have  been  different. 


[19] 


ADDRESS 

of 

Dr.  W.  P.  Few 

PRESIDENT  OF  DUKE  UNIVERSITY 


AT   THE   FUNERAL 
JANUARY  31,  1927 


ADDRESS  OF  DR.  W.  P.  FEW  AT  THE  FUNERAL 

January  31,  1927. 

We  are  a  great  host  gathered  as  we  are  here  today  for  the  last 
time  about  the  body  of  our  dear  departed  friend.  We  come  from 
all  professions  and  all  ranks  of  life.  We  represent  many  varieties 
of  opinion  and  experience.  But  we  are  all  of  one  mind  concerning 
Mr.  Brown.  He  was  one  man  about  whom  there  can  be  no  serious 
differences  of  opinion.  We  have  here,  too,  a  community  of  feeling. 
This  man's  death  is  the  one  "touch  of  nature"  that  makes  akin 
practically  the  entire  City  of  Raleigh  and  a  large  part  of  North 
Carolina. 

Why  this  extraordinary  uniformity  of  opinion  and  unity  of 
feeling  that  we  see  here  today?  Mr.  Brown  was  a  normal  man. 
He  had  the  traits  of  character  that  make  a  universal  appeal.  We 
all  stand  in  admiration  and  reverence  before  the  oneness,  the 
wholeness,  the  completeness  of  the  man's  life  and  personality  and 
the  issues  of  this  harmonious  development  of  the  whole  man  in 
his  activities,  his  character,  and  his  influence.  There  were  no 
moral,  intellectual,  or  even  physical  "insurrections  in  his  kingdom 
of  man."  His  physical,  mental,  and  spiritual  constitution  was  not 
a  house  divided  against  itself.  There  was  a  consolidation  of  all 
his  resources  and  a  concentration  of  the  last  thing  that  was  in  him, 
and  all  this  was  always  available  whenever  evoked  by  the  crises 
of  life.  Whatever  direction  he  might  turn  his  effort  at  any  given 
time,  he  was  "all  there."  He  succeeded  in  many  ways,  and  he 
achieved  success  because  he  himself  was  success. 

In  business  he  was  very  successful.  Equipped  as  he  was,  how 
could  it  have  been  otherwise  ?  But  even  in  business  he  worked  not 
primarily  for  himself — he  worked  for  others;  for  depositors,  for 
patrons,  for  shareholders — for  the  public.  Here  was  a  man  who 
spent  a  lifetime  in  business,  working  through  approved  business 
methods  and  achieving  business  success;  and  yet  he  was  always 
concerned  more  for  others  than  for  himself. 


^Address  of  Dr.  clo).  (p.  ^ew  at  the  funeral 

He  gave  himself  unstintedly  to  public  service  in  the  best  sense 
of  those  words.  Throughout  a  long  life  he  served  his  neighbors  in 
countless  ways,  the  city  of  Raleigh  where  he  was  born  and  where 
he  lived  all  his  life.  He  served  the  State  many  years  and  in  many 
ways.  He  served  important  causes  of  the  National  Government, 
especially  during  the  Great  War.  Indeed,  I  think  he  never 
recovered  from  the  strain  of  the  load  he  carried  in  those  hard 
years.     All  this  was  done  without  expectation  of  reward. 

He  was  preeminently  a  servant  of  the  causes  of  education.  In 
1871  he  entered  Trinity  College,  now  a  part  of  Duke  University. 
Prom  that  day  until  his  death  he  served  the  institution  through 
every  stage  of  its  development  and  in  every  sort  of  way — as  loyal 
son,  as  patron,  as  benefactor,  as  trustee  for  thirty-four  years,  and 
as  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  for  ten  years.  He  served 
other  institutions.  He  was  educationally  minded.  He  had  the 
spirit  of  youth  and  could  work  at  the  tasks  of  education  with  an 
understanding  heart.  He  was  the  kind  of  man,  the  only  kind  of 
man,  that  can  succeed  or  even  be  useful  in  intimate  work  with 
youth.  He  deserves  to  live  among  those  who  through  guidance  and 
inspiration  of  the  young  have  most  effectively  served  their  day 
and  generation. 

He  had  a  deep  religious  nature  and  experience.  Beginning  here 
at  this  Church  in  boyhood,  out  through  the  State,  and  everywhere, 
he  devoted  his  time,  his  money,  himself  to  the  Church,  to  the 
orphans,  to  charities,  to  all  good  works,  "for  the  glory  of  the 
Creator  and  the  relief  of  man's  estate."  He  was  earnest,  but 
never  narrow;  he  had  intense  convictions,  but  without  a  trace  of 
bitterness. 

What  were  the  products  of  all  this — of  his  rich  inheritance  in  a 
strong  body,  a  good  intellect,  and  right  tendencies;  of  his  inner 
moral  adjustment;  and  of  the  discipline  of  years  rightly  lived? 
One  product  was  a  mind  that  always  ran  true  to  form.  He  was 
finely  adjusted  to  life,  and  this  adjustment  gave  him  a  sort  of 
moral  instinct  that  carried  him  to  his  tasks  with  something  of  the 
inevitableness  of  the  natural  instinct  that  compels  the  bird  to  build 

[24] 


^Address  of  <2)r.  clo).  Cp.  (Jew  at  the  (Juneral 

its  nest  and  to  sing  its  songs.  Thinking  back,  as  I  have  been 
thinking  for  the  past  twenty-four  hours,  over  many  years  of 
intimate  association  with  Mr.  Brown  and  others  in  tasks  and 
problems  that  have  sometimes  been  intricate  and  difficult,  I  have 
not  been  able  to  recall  one  instance  when  it  seemed  to  me  that  he 
did  not  think  straight  and  think  through  to  right  conclusions. 
This  sort  of  intuitive  wisdom  does  not  come  out  of  the  intellect 
alone,  but  out  of  the  full,  harmonious  development  of  all  a  man's 
capacities  and  powers.  As  we  all  well  know,  Mr.  Brown  had  in 
an  unusual  degree  this  precious  gift  of  unerring  wisdom. 

Another  product  was  an  all-pervading  goodness.  He  was  rightly 
in  tune  with  the  infinite,  and  it  seemed  to  be  more  nearly  natural 
for  him  to  do  right  than  for  almost  any  other  man  I  have  ever 
known.  He  lived  here  all  his  life.  I  dare  now  to  challenge  the 
memory  of  any  of  you — and  I  care  not  how  long  you  have  known 
him — can  you  recall  many,  if  any,  occasions  when  you  felt  that 
he  did  wrong? 

It  has  been  said  that  the  beautiful  is  higher  than  the  good 
because  it  includes  the  good — it  is  the  good  made  perfect.  At  any 
rate,  Mr.  Brown's  inner  character  flowered  also  in  beauty,  a  beauty 
that  showed  itself  even  in  physical  excellence.  He  had  a  clean  and 
fine  face  that  none  but  a  good  and  wise  man  can  ever  wear.  He 
had  a  personal  charm  and  winsomeness.  I  recently  heard  a  little 
boy  say  the  men  he  loved  most  were  his  father  and  Mr.  Brown. 
This  is  typical  of  the  feeling  of  children,  of  youth,  of  adults. 
None  knew  him  but  to  love  him. 

The  quiet,  useful,  and  happy  life  of  this  man  is  an  unanswerable 
argument  of  our  Christian  religion.  That  sort  of  living  and 
witness-bearing  on  the  part  of  Christians  and  a  new  emphasis  by 
all  our  preachers  upon  the  plain  teachings  of  Jesus  and  upon 
Jesus  himself  as  the  Way  of  Life,  and  the  Only  Way  of  Life — 
these  are  the  things  for  which  this  troubled  age  of  ours  is 
impatiently  waiting,  and  these,  too,  are  the  things  that  would 
bring  about  the  greatest  revival  of  essential  Christianity  the 
world  has  ever  seen. 

[25] 


^Address  of  <2)r.  cls).  (p.  ^ew  at  the  funeral 


There's  the  worth  of  this  man's  example,  and  there's  the 
heritage  of  his  life— sweet,  abiding,  consoling  to  all  who  knew  him 
and  who  know  of  him  in  the  after-years,  to  you  his  neighbors  and 
friends,  and  above  all  to  you,  his  sorrowing  loved  ones.  May  the 
blessed  memories  and  the  benedictions  of  his  life  go  with  you  to 
the  end ;  and  may  the  richest  blessings  of  his  God  and  Father,  and 
yours  and  ours,  be  upon  you  now  and  always. 


[26] 


ADDRESS 

of 

Hon.  Josephus  Daniels 


AT  THE  MEMORIAL  SERVICE  IN  EDENTON 
STREET  METHODIST  CHURCH 


FEBRUARY   13,    1927 


[Note:  On  February  13,  1927,  a  Memorial  Service  was  held  at  Eden- 
ton  Street  Church.  This  service  was  conducted  by  the  pastor  of  the 
church,  and  addresses  were  delivered  by  Hon.  Josephus  Daniels, 
S.  Wade  Marr,  and  W.  M.  Upchurch,  Jr.] 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  DANIELS  AT  THE 
MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

You  cannot  think  of  the  Raleigh  of  yesterday,  today,  or 
tomorrow  without  thinking  of  Joseph  Gill  Brown.  Before  this  city 
was  dreamed  of,  his  forebears  lived  in  the  primeval  forests,  cleared 
the  fields,  and  hunted  along  the  streams  hard  by  the  spot  where 
stands  today  our  stately  capitol  and  this  and  other  temples  of 
religion.  It  was  Joel  Lane,  his  mother's  great-uncle,  who  owned 
the  broad  acres  where  in  1770  the  first  Wake  County  courthouse 
was  built  on  the  hill  across  the  way  from  Joel  Lane's  home.  In 
1789  the  Legislature,  tiring  of  an  ambulatory  seat  of  government, 
directed  that  "an  unalterable  seat  of  government"  should  be 
located  "as  near  as  possible  in  the  center  of  the  State."  On 
Friday,  March  20,  1792,  the  commissioners  bought  1,016  acres  of 
land  from  Joe  Brown's  great-uncle,  paying  therefor  $2,756.  He 
could  therefore  have  said  of  early  Raleigh,  "of  which  I  was  a 
part."  Is  it  any  wonder  that  Joe  Brown  had  a  passionate  love 
for  the  very  trees  and  soil  of  his  native  city? 

It  is  a  matter  of  history  that  Willie  Jones,  friend  of  Jefferson 
and  friend  of  Lane,  was  the  dominating  leader  when  Joel  Lane's 
farm  was  chosen  as  the  site  of  the  State  Capital.  It  is  a  further 
matter  of  history,  and  may  be  more  than  a  coincidence  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Church  home  of  Joseph  G.  Brown,  that  this  same 
Willie  Jones,  who  procured  the  purchase  of  his  kinsman's  land  as 
the  site  for  the  capitol,  donated  the  land  upon  which  this  Edenton 
Street  Methodist  Church  stands.  Willie  Jones  was  not  a  Methodist, 
not  even  a  professing  Christian.  It  may  be — who  can  tell? — that 
out  of  his  regard  for  the  Lane  family  he  deeded  property  to  a 
Church  where  descendants  of  this  family  have  worshipped  for  a 
hundred  years,  a  Church  of  which  his  own  daughter  was  to  become 
a  communicant. 

We  cannot  envision  the  Raleigh  of  today  without  thinking  of 
Joseph  G.  Brown.  Material  evidences  are  all  about  us — this 
Church  and  Sunday  School  room,  the  buildings  and  grounds  of 


^Address  of  Stiff.  (Daniels  at  the  SY(emorial  §>ervice 


the  Methodist  Orphanage,  his  home  of  comfort  and  hospitality, 
the  Citizens  National  Bank,  soon  to  be  enlarged  upon  his  plans, 
are  some  of  his  constructive  works.  More  enduring  than  these 
are  the  lives  into  which  he  carried  hope  and  light  and  blessing. 
It  is  in  the  lives  he  touched  that  tomorrow,  though  dead,  he  will 
still  speak.  It  is,  therefore,  true  that  in  its  conception,  in  its 
development,  in  its  future,  Raleigh  and  Raleigh  Methodism  will 
owe  a  lasting  debt  to  this  good  man. 

It  would  be  a  sad  privilege  if  Christian  faith,  which  gives 
assurance  of  blessed  immortality,  did  not  make  it  a  sacred  one,  to 
pay  homage  to  this  noble  man  in  this  holy  place  made  dear  by  his 
devotion.  While  Mr.  Brown  moved  among  us  he  was  called  the 
First  Citizen  of  Raleigh.    And  so  he  was. 

This  city  has  furnished  not  a  few  men  of  distinction.  Can  you 
recall  one  to  the  manner  born  who  served  his  day  so  well  or  who 
gave  it  more  honor  than  Joseph  G.  Brown?  By  the  standard  of 
success  in  business,  or  in  large  civic  contribution,  or  in  religious 
activity,  or  in  garnering  the  love  of  his  fellows,  I  can  recall  no 
man  in  all  its  history  who  outranks  him.  More  learned  men  there 
have  been,  men  more  eloquent,  men  with  larger  possessions.  But 
in  the  greatness  of  goodness,  in  securing  and  holding  public 
confidence,  in  recognition  abroad  as  well  as  at  home,  as  a  construc- 
tive leader,  he  was  Raleigh's  Abou  Ben  Adhem.  And  his  name 
led  all  the  rest  for  a  similar  reason  :   he  loved  his  fellowmen. 

It  is  a  proud  claim  that  Raleigh  moulded  him,  not  alone  to 
serve  his  own  city,  but  to  lead  in  the  State  and  National  gatherings 
of  bankers,  Church  assemblies,  or  fiscal  affairs  of  the  great  Govern- 
ment in  the  World  War.  Though  he  was  Raleigh  to  the  core,  he 
was  more.  He  never  failed  to  measure  up  with  the  leaders  in  any 
assembly  of  which  he  was  a  member. 

Joe  Brown  was  the  perfection  of  Raleigh  in  its  best  expression. 
He  possessed  a  rounded  character  that  set  him  apart  in  any 
company.  They  looked  at  him  twice  and  saw  he  was  patterned  in 
a  lofty  mould.  Modest  and  unassuming,  he  had  the  merit  of 
conscious  power.     He  incarnated  the  city's  highest  ideals  and  best 

[30] 


_y4ddress  of  J3Y(r.  Daniels  at  the  ^Memorial  Service 

traditions.  If  a  stranger  had  asked  you,  "Show  us  the  finest  fruit 
of  the  tree  of  your  city?"  the  answer  would  be,  Joseph  G.  Brown. 

The  deity  who  presided  at  his  birth  showered  gifts  upon  him — - 
beauty  of  person,  charm  of  manner,  graciousness,  and  the  simple 
dignity  that  fitted  him  like  a  garment.  To  physical  beauty  he  added 
the  beauty  of  character,  the  expression  on  his  countenance  of  that 
inward  grace  which  attracted  and  held  old  and  young.  As  the 
crown  of  his  life  there  was  the  abiding  quality  of  sweetness  and 
friendliness  which  were  the  fruits  of  the  indwelling  Spirit  of  God. 
The  Christian  religion  as  he  lived  it  was  joy  and  peace.  It  gave 
serenity  and  assurance.  It  accounted  for  his  consistent  course.  It 
was  his  sheet  anchor,  sure  and  steadfast.  His  religion  was  deep, 
his  experience  genuine,  deep,  clear,  and  though  not  given  to 
speaking  of  it,  upon  suitable  occasions  he  was  not  ashamed  to  give 
testimony  to  the  faith  that  was  in  him. 

No  written  profession  of  what  he  believed  could  add  to  our 
confidence  in  his  faith.  It  is  comforting,  however,  to  those  who 
loved  him,  and  will  hearten  others  to  know  that  when  he  looked 
Death  in  the  face  he  could  do  so  unafraid,  because  his  faith  never 
faltered.  In  the  Spring  of  1923 — on  May  23d — following  an 
illness  at  home,  when  on  a  visit  to  New  York,  Mr.  Brown  con- 
sulted a  specialist,  who  found  his  condition  serious.  He  returned 
to  his  hotel.  Feeling  that  he  stood  on  the  portals  of  the  next 
world,  he  made  his  will  and  wrote  a  letter  to  his  beloved  wife. 
The  letter  was  never  mailed.  It  was  found  last  week  with  his  will 
among  his  valuable  papers.  It  was  the  most  valuable  legacy  he 
bequeathed.  There  was  one  sentence  in  the  letter,  which  comes  to 
us  as  a  message  from  our  dead  leader,  which  at  my  request  I  am 
permitted  by  his  sorrowing  wife  to  read  to  his  friends.  "I  am  not 
uneasy  or  worried,"  he  wrote,  after  telling  his  wife  of  the  doctor's 
diagnosis.  "If  the  end  comes — as  come  it  must  before  many 
years — He  will  be  with  me,  notwithstanding  all  my  unworthiness. 
I  have  implicit  faith  in  Him  and  in  His  abounding  mercy  and 
love." 

[31] 


.Address  of  SY(r.  (Daniels  at  the  3Y(emorial  Service 


There  may  be  a  nobler  profession  among  those  handed  down  to 
us  from  the  days  of  saints  and  martyrs,  but  I  do  not  recall  one. 
Compared  to  the  possession  of  that  steadying  faith,  made  in  the 
hour  when  he  thought  Death  was  near  neighbor,  what  heritage  of 
value  would  he  have  left  his  family,  his  friends,  his  Church,  his 
city,  his  country? 

After  his  religion,  which  was  the  mainspring  that  guided  all  his 
actions  and  which  alone  explains  him,  there  were  two  qualities 
which  stood  out  preeminent.  They  were  Loyalty  and  Cheerfulness. 
Loyalty  to  beliefs,  to  friends,  to  duty.  He  regarded  Loyalty  as  the 
eleventh  commandment.  Without  Cheerfulness  life  is  a  weary 
grind.     Cheerfulness  is  the  twelfth  commandment. 

In  his  life  there  had  come  attractive  offers  to  Mr.  Brown  to 
make  his  home  in  cities  with  larger  opportunity  to  increase  his 
fortune.  He  talked  with  me  about  one  which  most  men  in  his 
position  would  have  accepted  immediately.  His  loyalty  to  the 
place  of  his  birth  forbade  serious  consideration.  He  held  this 
loyalty  and  devotion  as  something  more  than  houses  and  lands. 
Here  his  ancestors,  his  kin,  had  made  their  homes.  His  roots  were 
deep.  He  could  not  think  of  uprooting  them.  It  would  have  cut 
some  ligaments  of  Loyalty  for  him  to  move.  There  was  another 
attachment.  "I  could  not,"  he  said  as  we  talked  it  over  in  Wash- 
ington, "be  happy  away  from  Edenton  Street  Church  and  Sunday 
School."  Queen  Mary  said,  "When  I  am  dead,  you  will  find  Calais 
written  upon  my  heart."  She  did  not  long  more  for  Calais  than 
Joe  Brown  for  the  welfare  of  his  Church. 

His  loyalty  to  the  financial  institutions  of  which  he  was  the  head 
was  marked  and  unselfish.  They  had  grown  from  small  to  large 
proportions.  He  was  the  chief  asset  of  the  banks  he  directed, 
though  he  was  not  the  largest  stockholder.  If  he  had  owned  every 
share  of  stock  in  these  financial  institutions,  he  could  not  have 
shepherded  the  resources  or  husbanded  them  more  conscientiously 
and  efficiently.  He  had  gone  into  the  Citizens  Bank  fresh  from 
college.  He  had  been  given  marked  trust  by  the  chief  owner. 
His  loyalty  held  him  to  lifelong  devotion  to  the  trust  reposed  in 

[32] 


^Address  of  jY(r.  Daniels  at  the  JXfemori&l  Service 


him,  though  he  would  have  become  a  richer  man  if  all  his  talents 
and  time  had  been  devoted  to  a  financial  institution  of  his  own, 
which  he  could  easily  have  established. 

His  loyalty  to  his  college  never  weakened.  Youth  forges  strong 
friendships.  Love  for  the  institution  that  opens  doors  of  knowl- 
edge is  permanent  in  fine  characters.  Joseph  G.  Brown  held 
unbroken  the  love  of  college  mates  and  gained  their  gratitude  by 
his  eminent  service  as  Trustee  of  Trinity  and  afterwards  as  Chair- 
man of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Duke  University. 

High  over  all  was  his  loyalty  to  his  Church  as  the  temple  of  the 
living  God.  He  had  no  narrow  creed  and  loved  all  Christians,  but 
his  deepest  affections  were  entwined  about  this  Church  and  Sunday 
School.  Here  he  had  been  born  into  the  Kingdom,  here  his  heart 
had  been  strangely  warmed  as  he  consecrated  himself  to  Christian 
service.  Here  had  been  given  vows  when  he  was  crowned  with  the 
happiness  of  a  happy  marriage  for  love.  Here  he  had  brought  his 
children  and  solemnly  dedicated  them  to  God.  Here  he  had 
rejoiced  to  see  souls  born  again.  Here  for  more  than  half  a 
century  he  had  led  in  everything  that  looked  for  the  upbuilding  of 
this  Zion.  Here  for  over  half  a  century  he  had  been  teacher, 
officer,  and  superintendent  of  the  great  Sunday  School  which  is 
today  impregnated  with  his  spirit.  His  loyalty  made  this  house 
to  him  a  very  gate  of  Heaven.  To  many  the  very  chimes  sound 
mournful  now  that  he  is  gone. 

The  virtue  of  cheerfulness  is  much  underestimated.  It  is  a 
product  of  the  Beatitudes.  It  is  the  oil  that  gladdens  hearts  and 
that  prevents  creaking  in  the  human  machinery.  There  are 
cloudy  days  for  many  and  heartaches  and  disappointments  and 
disillusionment.  They  need  to  feel  the  warmth  of  cheerfulness. 
The  only  balm  to  weary  hearts  is  in  the  Christian  religion.  The 
only  understanding  of  the  value  of  that  religion  to  most  people  is 
when  it  is  seen  in  the  faces  and  in  the  lives  of  those  who  profess  it. 
The  best  sermon  is  a  cheerful  and  clean  life.  Joseph  G.  Brown 
preached  that  sermon  unconsciously  every  day  of  his  life,  alike 
to  the  millionaire  and  other  business  men  who  were  associated  with 

[33] 


^Address  of  3Y(r.  Daniels  at  the  jYfemorial  Service 


him  in  business  and  to  the  youngest  child  in  this  Sunday  School. 
"If  religion  gives  the  joy  and  glow  Joe  Brown  radiates,  it  is  the 
pearl  of  great  price,"  was  the  feeling  that  brought  many  to 
embrace  the  Christian  religion  in  this  Church.  How  greatly  we 
shall  miss  his  sermons  of  good  cheer !  It  was  given  to  our  friend 
never  to  grow  old  in  heart  or  spirit.  He  died  with  the  dew  of 
youth  on  his  brow.  Perfeet  health  for  three  score  years  made  his 
step  elastic.  His  interest  in  all  things  never  abated.  I  could 
not  associate  him  with  feebleness  or  think  of  his  fearing  the  things 
that  are  high. 

He  died  as  he  would  have  loved  to  die,  welcoming  a  little  child 
into  his  Sunday  School,  and  passing  without  pain  into  the  rest 
reserved  to  the  people  of  God. 

It  could  be  truly  said  of  Joseph  G.  Brown  what  was  said  to  good 
Doctor  Amboyne,  by  the  young  man  who  was  lifted  out  of  despair 
to  hope :   "Talking  with  you  is  like  drinking  sunshine." 

The  Arabian  poet  described  Joe  Brown  when  he  wrote: 

"Sunshine  was  he 
In  the  winter  day : 
And  in  the  midsummer 
Coolness  and  shade." 


[34] 


ADDRESS 

of 

S.  Wade  Marr 


AT  THE  MEMORIAL  SERVICE  IN  EDENTON 
STREET  METHODIST  CHURCH 


FEBRUARY    13,    1927 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  MARR  AT  THE 
MEMORIAL  SERVICE 

If  for  no  other  reason  than  that  Joe  Brown  came  and  went  from 
this  altar,  I  feel  that  I  stand  on  sacred  ground,  and  in  the  spirit  of 
humility  and  under  the  consciousness  of  unworthiness,  I  put  forth 
a  feeble  effort  to  express  that  which  is  inexpressible.  Here  we  are, 
a  powerful  people,  nurtured  in  a  sanctuary  crowned  with  a  noble 
inheritance  of  Christian  fellowship  and  loyalty;  but  just  now  we 
seem  to  hesitate.  The  eyes  through  which  we  seemed  to  glimpse 
heaven  are  closed.  Till  now  we  little  reckoned  that  the  way  we 
have  come  is  the  way  that  Joe  Brown,  a  man  of  God,  has  led  us. 
For  more  than  a  half  century  he  led  because  a  noble  people  loved 
to  follow  his  leadership.  In  this  Church  he  has  left  a  monument 
to  his  leadership.  JSTothing  endures  without  character.  Edenton 
Street  Church  and  Sunday  School  shall  endure  because  deeply 
embedded  in  the  fibre  of  its  character  there  is  a  soul — and  that  soul 
the  spirit  of  Joe  Brown. 

God  has  given  to  young  men  few  blessings  so  rich  as  the  privilege 
of  knowing  Joe  Brown.  In  seasons  of  distrust  and  in  periods  of 
doubt,  when  all  the  sacred  teachings  of  a  Christian  home  seemed 
to  be  quivering  on  the  edge  of  chaos,  and  in  the  struggle  of  a  soul 
to  find  itself,  it  was  not  at  the  altar  of  any  great  shrine  that  it 
knelt ;  it  was  not  the  spiritual  leadership  of  any  great  minister 
that  it  sought ;  but  there  was  a  great  beacon,  a  tower  of  the  Bock 
of  Ages  at  Edenton  Street  Sunday  School.  A  plain  man  of  power 
submerged  in  meekness  and  directed  by  a  faith  from  Galilee.  A 
man  powerful  in  big  business,  willing  to  serve.  A  man,  who 
having  merited  the  faith  of  his  fellowman,  stood  face  to  face  with 
countless  opportunities  to  accumulate  the  things  of  this  world, 
but  with  a  burning  passion  for  those  things  which  money  cannot 
buy  he  saw  no  opportunities  of  value  save  in  the  lives  of  "the  least 
of  these,"  and  to  these  at  Edenton  Street  Sunday  School  he  showed 
the  way.  And  to  hundreds  of  young  men  and  women  in  doubt  he 
has  given  a  new  vision  of  life  dominated  by  a  consciousness  of 


^Address  of \jY(r.  Sy(arr  at  the  3Y(emorial  Service 


the  divine.  No  man  could  really  know  Joe  Brown  and  be  possessed 
with  doubt.  To  come  under  the  gentle  influence  of  his  serene  faith 
and  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  his  understanding  ways  was  to  find  God. 

His  contribution  to  mankind  is  being  measured  by  the  yard- 
stick which  he  gave.  As  we  think  of  him  and  his  relations  to  this 
community  it  does  seem  that  towering  brick-and-mortar  monuments 
to  his  business  leadership,  which  was  without  peer,  crumble  away 
in  the  presence  of  the  veritable  thousands  who  have  learned  from 
him  the  difference  in  a  living  and  life.  Yonder  on  Fayetteville 
street  is  a  reminder  of  his  living — here  in  these  walls,  which  he 
made  sacred  for  me,  is  a  monument  to  his  life.  For  nearly  thirty 
years  as  Superintendent  of  this  Sunday  School  he  has  done  more 
to  shape  the  destiny  of  a  Christian  people  than  any  man  who  has 
passed  this  way.  At  the  beginning  of  his  life  as  Sunday  School 
Superintendent  this  was  a  comparatively  small  school  made  up  of 
young  people  with  only  enough  older  people  to  provide  instruction 
to  youth.  But,  with  a  high  sense  of  responsibility  toward  his  task, 
his  personality  began  to  popularize  the  work  of  the  Sunday  School, 
with  the  result  that  this  good  day  has  brought  us  a  Sunday  School 
just  as  attractive  to  old  age  as  to  youth.  The  bigness  of  the  man 
came  in  an  infinite  capacity  to  comfort  old  age  and  inspire  youth. 
His  last  official  act  as  Superintendent  was  Cradle  Boll  announce- 
ments, and  nothing  seemed  so  close  to  his  heart  as  the  privilege  of 
adding  to  the  Cradle  Boll  the  names  of  newly-born  babes  of  parents 
who  years  before  had  joined  in  the  same  fashion.  Mr.  Brown 
found  it  easy  to  love  babyhood,  and  counted  it  one  of  his  highest 
privileges  to  have  a  part  in  shaping  the  lives  of  little  children. 

Each  succeeding  year  of  his  service  brought  richer  fruit,  and  on 
the  last  Sunday  of  his  earthly  administration  he  was  fuller  of 
understanding  than  on  the  Sunday  before.  For  youth  he  was  an 
interpreting  friend.  He,  himself,  never  grew  old — ambition  to 
serve  was  just  as  keen  at  the  end  as  it  was  in  the  beginning.  He 
thrilled  in  acts  of  service  to  young  men  and  women,  in  whom  he 
had  an  abiding  faith  and  of  whose  problems  he  had  always  an 
immeasurable  understanding. 

[38] 


^Address  of  SMj-  ^[arr  at  the  Stfemorial  Service 

In  a  Sunday  School  growing  under  his  leadership  from  a  mem- 
bership of  350  to  over  1,700,  there  are  many  young  people  who 
find  joy  in  service  because  they  found  in  Mr.  Brown  a  man  who, 
with  the  accumulated  wisdom  and  prestige  of  nearly  three-quarters 
of  a  century,  had  kept  his  heart  young,  and  understood.  As  I 
think  of  all  these  hundreds  of  young  people  today  assembled  in 
this  Sunday  School  under  the  strain  of  an  irreparable  loss,  I  can't 
repress  a  consoling  thought :  how  much  richer  in  the  vital  elements 
of  life  are  they  for  even  a  brief  moment  with  him ! — their  leader, 
because  their  friend. 

Of  course,  they  are  lost  in  the  shadow.  I,  too,  am  lost.  As 
sacred  as  this  place  may  be  in  memory,  yet  somehow  it's  not  my 
place  just  now.  I'm  lonesome  here.  I  keep  turning  to  find  a  face 
that  is  pictured  in  my  mind  along  with  that  of  my  own  father. 
But  none  of  us  would  be  worthy  of  the  friendship  which  he  gave  if 
we  did  not  dedicate  ourselves  to  the  task  of  carrying  on  the  work 
which  he  distinguished  with  his  loyalty.  His  place  can  never  be 
filled,  but  the  light  of  his  character  will  encourage  and  the  hope 
of  his  life  will  direct. 

The  quiet  of  his  manner  impressed  us  with  the  worthiness  of  a 
life  lived  for  God  and  humanity.  Never  excited  by  the  whims  of 
mankind,  he  slipped  into  our  lives  to  reign  as  an  inspiration  and 
leave  an  influence  like  a  spark  of  the  divine.  Loyal  in  such  a 
quiet  fashion  that  before  Ave  knew  it  his  life  became  a  benediction 
and  we  loved  him — not  in  a  lip  service,  but  in  the  pulsations  of  a 
heart  that  beat  in  full  appreciation  for  God's  greatest  gift  to 
man — a  friend. 

A  day  with  Joe  Brown  was  a  day  close  to  the  Maker  and  Builder 
of  all.  I  thank  God  that  I  was  privileged  to  know  him,  and  when 
I  shall  come  to  "the  end  of  the  trail,"  if  I  can  know  that  some- 
where there  is  a  friend  who  loves  me  as  I  loved  him,  the  end  will 
be  sweet,  because  the  way  was  not  in  vain. 


[39] 


A  TRIBUTE 


to 


Mr.  Brown— A  Friend  of  the 
Young  People 

W.  M.  UPCHURCH,  JR.,  AT  THE  MEMORIAL  SERVICE 


FEBRUARY    13,    1927 


A  TRIBUTE  TO  MR.  BROWN— A  FRIEND  OF  THE 
YOUNG  PEOPLE 

For  a  person  ever  to  be  interested  in  young  people,  he  must  be 
able  to  get  their  viewpoint  and  be  able  to  walk  with  them  in  their 
youthful  experiences.  Surely  there  was  none  that  could  see  with 
the  eyes  of  youth  or  walk  with  the  youth  of  the  day,  along  their 
pathway  of  experiences,  better  than  could  Mr.  Joseph  G.  Brown. 

A  Sunday  School  teacher  of  girls  once  remarked  to  a  worker 
with  boys  that  she  wished  that  the  superintendent  of  her  depart- 
ment would  move  a  class  of  boys  that  had  been  near  her. 

"Those  mean  boys  worry  me  almost  beyond  expression !"  she 
said. 

The  other  worker  turned  and  replied,  "  'Mean  boys'  ?  Why, 
there  never  was  a  mean  boy !" 

Surely  there  never  was  such  a  boy  to  Mr.  Brown.  Oh,  yes,  there 
might  have  been  one  or  two  that  offered  opportunities  of  service, 
but  as  far  as  being  really  mean — there  were  none.  Why  ?  Because 
Mr.  Brown  was  interested  in  youth ;  he  had  the  viewpoint  of  youth, 
and  he  understood  the  problems  of  youth. 

Mr.  Brown  always  saw  in  young  people  something  that  could  be 
used.  He  was  Christlike  in  many  respects.  Surely  one  of  the 
writers  of  the  Gospels  might  have  written  a  story  about  him  and 
about  his  appreciation  of  the  best  in  people.  One  is  reminded  of 
the  story  of  Zaccheus,  who  though  rich  was  despised  by  his  fellow- 
men.  He  didn't  think  that  even  Jesus  would  care.  But  Jesus  saw 
in  him  something  that  could  be  used  for  the  Kingdom  of  God.  And 
His  words,  "Zaccheus,  come  down !  I  am  going  to  eat  dinner  with 
you  today,"  have  been  passed  on  to  us  as  an  expression  of  the  true 
spirit  of  Jesus — the  spirit  of  seeking  out  the  best  in  people.  Such 
was  the  spirit  of  Mr.  Brown.  Many  a  time  he  was  the  one  that 
rested  a  helping  hand  on  a  drooped  shoulder  and  with  a  kind, 
friendly  word  put  life  and  hope  into  one  that  had  fallen  and  sent 
him  out  into  a  new  world  of  happiness.  Countless  numbers  of  boys 
and  girls  who,  to  the  average  man  or  woman,  were  just  plain  John 


^A  tribute  to  St(r.  <Brown  by  c(q).  3%  Rlpckurch,  gr. 

and  Mary,  with  little  promise  or  hope,  were  to  Mr.  Brown  capable 
of  attempting  great  things  for  God  and  of  accomplishing  great 
things  for  God. 

There  never  has  been  a  successful  worker  with  young  people  who 
was  not  enthusiastic — yes,  even  buoyant.  Unless  you  can  laugh 
with  young  people,  unless  you  can  even  joke  with  them,  they  will 
not  interest  you.  Many  a  man  of  three  score  years  and  ten  would 
have  lost  his  enthusiasm  and  his  eagerness  to  try  new  ventures. 
His  smile  would  have  faded,  and  he  would  have  built  around 
himself  an  impenetrable  shell  of  gloom.  But  not  so  with  Mr.  Brown. 
As  he  neared  the  end  of  his  path  of  life  his  enthusiasm  doubled, 
his  eagerness  grew  beyond  all  bounds,  his  face  became  as  a  mirror 
reflecting  the  happiness,  joy,  and  beauty  of  a  Christian  life. 

He  was  the  easiest  man  to  get  close  to  that  we  have  ever  known. 
The  youngest  among  us,  however  radical  our  ideas  and  suggestions 
might  have  been,  were  always  assured  of  a  patient  and  interested 
listener  in  Mr.  Brown.  Nor  did  he  stop  with  listening  alone.  If 
there  were  any  virtue  in  the  plan  suggested,  he  was  willing  to  let 
youth,  impetuous  as  youth  sometimes  is,  launch  out  and  try  new 
ventures. 

But  far  greater  than  his  enthusiasm,  or  his  keen  interest  in 
young  people,  was  his  devotion  to  them.  He  held  them  close  to 
his  heart ;  he  was  their  friend  and  they  were  his. 

Some  one  once  asked  Mr.  Brown,  if  he  were  going  to  make  a  talk 
at  a  certain  meeting  what  would  he  like  best  to  talk  on.  His 
answer  was,  "I  would  talk  on  love."  It  is  easy  enough  to  talk  or 
preach  a  sermon  on  love,  but  few  people  can  live  one  as  did 
Mr.  Brown.  His  whole  life  was  an  evidence  of  the  principles  of 
love  and  of  friendship.  There  was  no  horizon  to  his  love.  His 
friendship  knew  not  the  bounds  of  creed  or  station;  but  to  none 
did  he  give  so  much  of  his  love,  devotion,  and  friendship  as  did 
he  to  youth.  In  them  he  saw  the  fulfillment  of  his  fondest  dreams, 
the  living  expression  of  his  most  cherished  ideals.  Only  he  is 
truly  great  who,  knowing  his  work  cannot  much  longer  be  carried 
on  by  himself  alone,  sees  in  the  youth  about  him  the  leaders  on 

[44] 


yi  tribute  to  Jfr(r.  (Brown  by  c(q).  3%  ^pchurch,  gr. 

whose  shoulders  he  would  place  the  tasks  aud  the  opportunities  of 
service  that  have  been  his.  It  was  given  to  Mr.  Brown  to  see  into 
the  future  and  so  to  prepare  for  the  days  to  come  that  the  youth, 
whom  he  loved  and  to  whom  he  gave  so  much  of  his  time  and 
efforts,  should  carry  on  the  work  to  which  he  dedicated  the  best 
of  his  life. 

The  youth  will  miss  Mr.  Brown,  but  we  are  comforted  when  we 
know  that  he  is  sleeping  the  sleep  of  peace — "the  innocent  sleep, 
sleep  that  knits  up  the  ravell'd  sleave  of  care."  We  shall  miss  him 
because  he  was  our  friend — and  youth  esteem  and  value  nothing  so 
much  in  this  world  as  a  real  friend.  Such  a  one  is,  as  it  were, 
another  self,  to  whom  we  impart  our  most  secret  thoughts,  who 
partakes  of  our  joy  and  comforts  us  in  our  afflictions.  A  friend's 
company  is  an  everlasting  pleasure  to  us,  for  a  friend  may  well  be 
reckoned  as  the  masterpiece  of  nature.  "Friendship  is  love  with- 
out his  wings." 

Surely  the  poet  must  have  been  looking  down  through  the  ages 
and  thinking  of  our  own  beloved  Mr.  Joseph  G.  Brown  when  he 
wrote : 

"God  never  loved  me 

In  so  sweet  a  way  before; 

'Tis  only  He  who  can  such  blessings  send, 

And  when  His  love  would  new  expression  find, 

He  brought  thee  to  me  and  said, 

'Behold !  A  friend !" 


[45] 


ADDRESS 

of 

John  A.  Park 


FIRST  ASSISTANT  SUPERINTENDENT 
OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 


FEBRUARY    13,    1927 


[Note:  A  Memorial  Service  was  held  in  the  Sunday  School  Sunday, 
February  13,  1927,  at  which  time  the  following  address  was  delivered 
by  John  A.  Park,  First  Assistant  Superintendent.] 


THE  FOUR-SQUARE  MAN 

Although  he  was  a  man  of  diversified  activities,  the  principal 
points  of  contact  which  Joseph  G.  Brown  had  with  the  world  were : 
(1)  his  home,  (2)  his  business,  (3)  his  community,  (4)  his 
religious  life. 

As  a  business  man  accustomed  to  dealing  with  big  problems  and 
large  financial  transactions,  Mr.  Brown  himself  had  no  aspirations 
to  become  wealthy.  His  advice  on  financial  and  business  matters 
was  always  considered  sound,  and  his  counsel  has  been  sought  by 
many  persons  of  this  community. 

As  a  loyal  citizen  of  his  State  and  community,  Mr.  Brown 
demonstrated  his  intense  loyalty  and  patriotism  during  the  war 
period  when  our  land  was  torn  with  stress  and  strife,  giving  his 
time  and  talents  to  the  raising  of  enormous  funds  for  war  purposes. 
He  served  throughout  the  war  period  as  chairman  of  the  Liberty 
Loan  activities  in  this  State.  Practically  every  civic  and 
philanthrophic  institution  of  the  city  utilized  his  services  at  one 
time  or  another. 

The  modest  home  where  his  affections  toward  a  loving  family 
centered  is  not  the  home  of  a  banker;  it  is  not  an  example  of 
extravagance;  it  is  a  true  home  where  friendship  and  happiness 
have  always  been  in  evidence. 

Here  at  Edenton  Street  Sunday  School  I  believe  Mr.  Brown 
received  his  deep  inspiration,  and  it  was  here  that  he  did  the  finest 
constructive  service  that  has  probably  been  done  by  any  one  man 
for  this  Sunday  School. 

As  active  worker,  teacher,  and  superintendent  for  more  than 
half  a  century,  Mr.  Brown's  influence,  zeal,  and  accomplishments 
have  placed  this  institution  among  the  leaders  of  the  entire  State. 
Children  who  came  under  Mr.  Brown's  influence  in  their  early 
lives,  now  grown  up,  are  among  those  to  whom  his  life  has  been  a 
benediction.  Although  he  was  denied  the  privilege  of  intensive 
education,  he  for  a  period  of  ten  years  presided  as  head  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  what  is  probably  destined  to  be  one  of  the 


jsurannssasuraa 


^he  (jfour-Squ&re  Sffan  by    ^folin  ^A..   Cp&rk 

greatest  educational  institutions  on  this  earth.  In  Sunday  School 
he  was  always  a  teacher  and  always  a  student — his  youthful  spirit, 
never  became  too  old  to  learn,  or  to  teach. 

His  last  official  act,  consummated  on  this  spot  two  weeks  ago, 
indicated  his  love  for  the  Sunday  School  and  his  interest  in 
children ;  when  he  concluded  an  announcement  of  new  members  in 
the  Cradle  Roll  Department,  on  being  asked  if  he  had  anything 
else  to  say,  his  reply  was,  "There  is  nothing  else  that  I  have  to  say." 
That  closed  his  long,  useful  career  in  a  quiet,  peaceful  way  that 
was  typical  of  the  man's  entire  life. 

We  are  going  to  miss  Joseph  G.  Brown  from  this  Sunday  School. 
His  place  will  be  hard  to  fill.  The  heritage  which  he  has  passed  on 
to  us  is  an  inspiration  that  will  urge  us  to  carry  on  as  he  planned 
in  the  past. 


[50] 


ADDRESS 

of 

Chief  Justice  W.  P.  Stacy 

BEFORE  THE  BARACA-WESLEY  CLASS 


SUNDAY    MORNING 
FEBRUARY  6,  1927 


ADDRESS  OF  CHIEF  JUSTICE  W.  P.  STACY 
BEFORE  THE  BARACA- WESLEY  CLASS 

(The   International   Uniform   Sunday    School   Lesson   for   the   day   was 
The  Parable  of  the  Talents.) 

The  scene  of  our  lesson  is  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Those  present 
are  the  disciples  and  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  St.  Matthew  records  that 
the  disciples  came  to  Him  privately.  They  said  to  Him  (stating 
it  in  my  own  language)  :  "Master,  tell  us  something  more  about 
this  doctrine  of  immortality  which  you  have  been  teaching  us.  Is 
it  really  true  that  we  shall  live  hereafter?  If  you  are  going  away 
(and  you  say  you  are),  and  you  expect  to  return,  what  sign  shall 
be  given  to  us  of  your  second  coming?  What  token  shall  we  look 
for  which  will  denote  the  end  of  the  world  ?"  As  was  His  custom, 
He  answered  the  disciples  in  parables,  first  using  the  parable  of 
the  fig  tree  and  then  the  parable  of  the  ten  virgins,  and  thirdly, 
the  parable  of  the  talents. 

The  time  is  but  a  short  while  before  His  crucifixion.  "For  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,"  He  says,  "is  as  a  man  traveling  into  a  far 
country"  (the  word  "man"  there  refers  to  the  Man  from  Galilee) 
"who  called  his  own  servants  and  delivered  unto  them  his  goods. 
And  unto  one  he  gave  five  talents,  to  another  two,  and  to  another, 
one ;  to  every  man  according  to  his  several  ability ;  and  straightway 
took  his  journey. 

"Then  he  that  had  received  the  five  talents  went  and  traded  with 
the  same,  and  made  them  other  five  talents.  And  likewise,  he  that 
had  received  two,  he  also  gained  other  two.  But  he  that  had 
received  one,  went  and  digged  in  the  earth,  and  hid  his  Lord's 
money. 

"After  a  long  time,  the  lord  of  those  servants  coineth  and 
reckoneth  with  them." 

You  remember  the  remainder  of  the  parable  with  respect  to  the 
servants  who  had  been  given  the  five  talents  and  the  two  talents, 
and  the  encomium,  "Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant" ; 
and  also  with  respect  to  the  one  who  had  been  given  one  talent  and 


^Address  of  Qhief  justice  CW.  Cp.  Stacy 

used  it  not.  I  should  like  for  us  to  get  the  view  and  the  significance 
of  the  words  uttered.  I  think  I  do  no  violence  to  the  understanding 
of  some  when  I  say  that  this  passage  of  scripture  has  been  widely 
misinterpreted.  Mind  you,  He  starts  out  by  saying:  "The  King- 
dom of  Heaven" — not  Heaven,  but  its  kingdom — "is  as  a  man 
traveling  into  a  far  country."  (He,  Himself,  was  to  take  His  long 
journey  pretty  soon.)  And  he  calls  about  him  his  servants  and 
delivers  to  them  certain  talents  according  to  their  several  abilities. 
And  after  a  long  time  the  lord  of  those  servants  cometh  and 
reckoneth  with  them.  You  recognize  at  once  that  the  emphasis 
here  is  placed  upon  the  use  of  the  talents,  and  whether  or  not  the 
holders  of  those  talents  have  increased  them  and  added  to  their 
worth.  You  are  all  familiar,  no  doubt,  with  the  debate  as  to 
whether  the  Man  from  Galilee  made  any  contribution  to  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven  by  His  coming  to  earth,  exercising  divinity  itself, 
and  then  returning.  In  other  words,  the  debate  has  been  as  to 
whether  a  man,  being  divine  already,  could,  by  the  assumption  of 
human  form,  add  anything  to  his  own  divinity. 

That  question  need  not  trouble  us,  nor  is  it  difficult  of  solution. 
It  is  not  a  question  of  whether  He,  by  assuming  finite  form,  made 
any  contribution  to  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  but  whether  ive  shall 
make  any  contribution. 

The  desire  for  immortality  (and  that's  the  lesson  of  the  talents) 
is  as  universal  as  the  race.  It  furnishes  the  incentive  for  every 
code  of  morals  and  the  inspiration  for  every  system  of  religious 
faith.  The  Indian  longs  for  his  "happy  hunting  ground" ;  the 
orthodox  Jew  contemplates  restful  repose  upon  Abraham's  bosom, 
and  the  devout  Christian,  with  ears  of  faith,  listens  for  the  plaudit, 
"Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant."  Without  this  belief 
in  and  desire  for  immortality  men  might  well  question  the  fruit- 
fulness  of  the  use  of  the  talents  which  have  been  given  to  them. 
Take  away  from  men  their  belief  in  immortality  and  you  have  but 
a  sordid  purpose,  but  a  material  end  to  be  achieved,  and  a  weak 
will  to  serve.  Indeed,  the  will  to  live  itself  would  be  greatly 
lessened.     But  a  man  may  by  his  own  efforts,  and  by  the  manner 

[54] 


^Address  of  Qhief  justice  CW.  Cp.  §)t&cy 

of  the  use  of  the  talents  which  have  been  given  to  him,  determine 
in  a  measure  the  character  and  the  content  of  his  own  immortality. 
The  use  which  he  shall  make  of  the  talents  entrusted  to  him  is  the 
contribution  which  he  shall  make  to  the  Kingdom  of  Righteousness. 
And  above  all,  no  man  wants  to  fail  in  the  responsibility  of 
deserving. 

There  is  a  divine  purpose  running  through  the  lives  of  men. 
And  of  however  little  moment  my  existence  or  my  being  here  may 
be  to  others,  I  can  but  think  that  it  is  in  accord  with  the  purpose 
of  the  universe,  and  every  man  must  render  in  the  end  an  account- 
ing of  his  stewardship. 

To  every  man  upon  this  earth  death  comes,  soon  or  late.  It  is 
but  a  part  of  life  itself — it  is  but  a  continuation  of  that  which  has 
already  begun.  The  Grim  Reaper  is  no  respecter  of  persons.  He 
calls  with  equal  tread  at  the  cottage  gate  and  the  palace  door.  The 
high  and  the  low,  the  young  and  the  old,  he  visits  them  all.  He 
presses  their  eyelids  down  with  dreamless  slumber  and  they  sleep 
with  the  hush  of  the  generations. 

On  last  Sunday,  in  this  very  building,  the  Messenger  of  Death 
summoned  our  beloved  Superintendent  from  the  work  he  loved  the 
best  and  decreed  for  him  that  his  days  here  should  be  no  more. 
But  our  friend  is  not  dead ;  he  is  only  gone  to  take  his  place  in  the 
schools  above,  there  to  mingle  with  the  spirits  of  just  men,  made 
perfect.  As  long  as  the  spire  of  this  church  shall  point  upward, 
and  as  long  as  men,  women,  and  children  shall  attend  Edenton 
Street  Sunday  School,  he  will  ever  live  in  the  hearts  of  his  country- 
men, for  even  in  the  kingdom  of  childhood,  and  with  those  who 
would  come  to  this  place  that  they  might  know  something  of  the 
teachings  of  the  Master,  as  he  himself  glimpsed  bits  of  the  truth 
and  transmitted  them  to  his  associates  and  to  his  students,  he  was 
building  a  monument  more  lasting  than  marble  and  more  enduring 
than  bronze. 

Raleigh  is  a  better  place  for  his  having  lived  in  it.  Banking  in 
this  community  is  safer  because  of  the  use  of  his  talents  in  that 

[55] 


^Address  of  Qhief  justice  c[q).  (p.  ^tacy 

field.  Yea,  the  religious  life  of  this  community  is  richer,  and  men 
go  about  their  work,  to  their  places  of  business,  with  a  feeling  of 
greater  security  because  he  labored  here. 

There  was  about  him  the  meed  of  gentleness  and  the  fruit  of 
strength;  the  courage  of  the  true  and  the  stamina  of  the  great; 
the  heritage  of  the  meek  and  the  harvest  of  the  bold.  Truly,  a 
noble  soul!  Which  element  predominated  we  scarcely  know.  He 
gave  a  helping  hand  to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  And  long 
may  it  remain  in  this  mixed  world  a  moot  question,  or  at  least  a 
point  not  easy  of  decision,  which  is  the  more  beautiful  evidence  of 
the  Almighty's  goodness,  the  delicate  fingers  that  are  formed  for 
sensitiveness  and  sympathy  of  touch  and  made  to  minister  to  pain 
and  grief,  or  the  strong  masculine  hand  that  the  heart  teaches, 
guides,  and  softens  in  a  moment. 

Many  of  you  remember  him  just  two  weeks  ago  standing  on  this 
platform,  speaking  to  you,  preaching  the  gospel  which  he  had 
preached  for  more  than  a  half  century  in  this  building,  the  gospel 
of  simple,  right,  and  honest  dealing.  The  worth  of  such  a  man 
cannot  be  measured  by  any  yardstick  known  to  us.  Words  them- 
selves are  but  feeble  instruments  to  convey  the  meaning  of  a  great 
life — and  it  is  a  serious  matter  when  a  great  life  goes  out !  Some 
of  you  know  that  in  the  great  financial  centers  of  this  country, 
where  men  deal  in  large  denominations,  the  opinion  and  word  of 
Joseph  G.  Brown  were  like  current  coin,  because  those  men  had 
learned  to  know  that  whenever  he  made  a  statement,  it  was  true; 
and  the  credit  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina  has  been  enhanced 
by  his  character  and  integrity.  Not  only  that,  but  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  this  commonwealth  and  beyond  its  borders, 
men  and  women  owe  their  conception  of  right  to  his  teaching.  You 
approve  or  condemn  the  conduct  of  your  neighbor  according  to 
your  estimate  of  right,  and  your  neighbor  approves  or  condemns 
your  conduct  according  to  his  estimate  of  right,  the  correctness  of 
the  judgment  in  each  case  depending  upon  the  correctness  of  the 
standard  by  which  it  is  made.  As  thus  understood,  human 
judgment  imposes  an  universal  obligation.     It  is  as  much  a  duty 

[56] 


^Address  of  (Bhief  justice  CW.  (p.  §>ta,cy 

to  see  that  right  judgment  is  rendered  to  your  neighbor  as  it  is  to 
demand  it  for  yourself,  and  to  fail  in  either  is  an  immoral  act. 

Our  friend  was  a  delightful  companion  and  a  man  wholly 
without  guile.  It  was  good  to  he  in  his  presence.  There  is  no 
wealth  comparable  to  that  of  loyal  comradeship.  It  is  the  divine 
gift  that  makes  the  poor  man  rich,  and  without  which  the  master 
of  a  world  would  be  poor  indeed.  He  believed  in  a  gospel  of 
justice,  in  a  religion  of  morality,  and  in  the  efficacy  of  instant 
reliance  on  a  Greater  Power.  This  was  the  real  source  of  his 
strength  and  effectiveness.  "No  man  has  earned  the  right  to 
intellectual  ambition  who  has  not  learned  to  lay  his  course  by  a 
star  which  he  has  never  seen,  to  dig  by  a  divining  rod  for  springs 
which  he  may  never  reach."  Four-square  to  every  wind  that  blew, 
he  was  the  soul  of  honor,  high-minded,  straightforward,  clean-cut, 
and  withal  a  great-hearted  fighter  for  the  right.  The  lives  of  many 
have  been  enriched  by  the  rare  charm  of  his  friendship,  and  in 
the  hearts  of  those  who  knew  him  best  his  immortality  will  abide. 

Great  is  the  reward  of  a  life  well  spent,  and  its  usefulness  is  not 
lost  in  the  democracy  of  death.  There  is  an  indescribable  essence  or 
something  that  lives  on.  It  refuses  to  die  in  the  hour  of  darkened 
shades  and  in  the  evening  of  twilight  shadows.  From  the  grave, 
where  "Victors'  wreaths  and  monarchs'  gems  all  blend  in  common 
dust,"  it  flies  away  and  becomes  an  asset  of  priceless  measure — the 
full  sheaves  of  a  golden  harvest. 

Our  friend  is  dead,  but  the  value  of  his  friendship  still  lives. 
His  lips  are  voiceless,  but  his  immortality  still  speaks.  His  work 
on  earth  is  done,  but  the  influence  of  his  life  lives  on. 

"Death  is  the  veil  which 
Those  who  live  call  life; 
They  sleep,  and  it  is  lifted." 

Such  is  the  parable  of  the  talents. 


[57] 


PRESENTATION 

of 

Mr.  BROWN'S  Picture 

ADDRESS  MADE  BY  CALE  K.  BURGESS 


JUNE   19,   1927 


[Note:  On  June  19,  1927,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  E.  Thiem  and  their 
son,  James  Thiem,  Jr.,  presented  to  the  Sunday  School  a  finely  finished 
portrait  of  Mr.  Brown.  The  address  of  presentation  was  made  by 
Cale  K.  Burgess.] 


PRESENTATION  OF  MR.  BROWN'S  PICTURE 

It  is  not  our  purpose  on  this  occasion  to  attempt  any  eulogy  of 
our  late  Superintendent,  for  lie  needs  no  eulogy  at  our  hands.  His 
life  and  his  work  in  the  Edenton  Street  Sunday  School  established 
for  him  a  memorial  more  lasting  than  either  bronze  or  granite; 
he  built  for  himself  in  the  hearts  of  children  a  memorial  that  will 
neither  tarnish  with  the  bronze  nor  crumble  with  the  granite. 

I  have  been  asked  to  present  to  this  Edenton  Street  Sunday 
School  a  picture  of  our  late  Superintendent.  The  donors  of  this 
picture  are  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  E.  Thiem  and  James  Thiem,  Jr. 
Mr.  Thiem  is  one  of  the  nephews  of  Mr.  Brown,  and  I  wish  to  say 
for  the  donors  of  this  picture  that  it  is  their  hope  that  it  may  be 
a  blessing  to  this  Sunday  School. 

And,  as  I  look  upon  this  picture,  placed  at  the  very  entrance  to 
this  rostrum,  there  is  something  in  me  that  tells  me  that  this  gift 
will  be  of  value  to  this  Sunday  School.  I  feel  that  it  will  be  a 
source  of  inspiration  to  our  present  Superintendent  and  to  all  those 
who  succeed  him  in  official  leadership  of  this  School.  As  our 
Superintendent  stands  on  this  rostrum  from  Sunday  to  Sunday 
endeavoring  to  lead  in  our  work  in  this  School  I  feel  that  it  will 
be  an  inspiration  to  him  to  know  that  a  likeness  of  liis  distinguished 
predecessor  is  standing  immediately  to  his  right  ready  and  anxious 
to  aid  and  support  him  on  all  occasions,  watching  every  movement 
in  which  he  undertakes  to  lead  this  School  and  forever  bidding 
him  Godspeed  in  every  undertaking.  It  will  forever  be  an 
inspiration  and  blessing  to  our  Superintendents  to  know  that  the 
eye  of  their  distinguished  predecessor  is  resting  upon  them  and  that 
his  blessings  and  his  benediction  will  forever  follow  them. 

The  presence  of  this  picture  within  this  room  will  bring  even 
greater  blessings  to  this  School.  As  we  assemble  in  this  auditorium 
from  Sunday  to  Sunday  and  as  we  attempt  to  worship  here  and 
carry  on  the  work  of  this  School,  we  shall  be  inspired  by  the 
presence  of  this  likeness  of  our  beloved  leader.  When  we  look  into 
his  face  we  shall  be  reminded  of  the  faithfulness  and  the  prompt- 


(presentation  of  Jfrfr.  brown's  (picture 

ness  with  which  he  came  to  this  House  of  Worship,  and  we  shall  be 
reminded  of  the  earnestness  and  the  sincerity  that  characterized 
his  movements  among  us.  We  shall  be  inspired  by  the  knowledge 
that  though  he  has  passed  away  yet  he  abides  with  us,  and  that  as 
we  endeavor  to  worship  at  this  shrine  his  spirit  will  ever  hover 
about  us,  and  support  us,  and  bid  us  to  carry  on  this  splendid  work 
as  God  would  have  us  do. 

And  finally,  just  now,  as  these  children  from  the  Primary  and 
Junior  Departments  Avere  marching  through  these  aisles  and 
assembling  in  the  crowded  spaces  in  this  room  this  concluding 
thought  impressed  itself  upon  me;  there  was  never  a  scene  so 
beautiful  in  the  eyes  of  our  late  Superintendent  and  there  was 
never  anything  that  so  pleased  his  soul  and  brought  light  to  his 
countenance  as  to  see  these  little  children  marching  through  these 
aisles  from  Sunday  to  Sunday.  Their  innocent  and  gleeful 
presence  always  seemed  to  be  the  sweetest  feast  to  his  eyes  and 
his  soul.  And  I  know  that  his  likeness  abiding  here,  near  the 
seat  that  he  always  occupied,  will  forever  be  an  inspiration  and 
a  blessing  to  these  children  and  to  their  children  as  they  march 
through  these  aisles  through  all  the  years  that  come.  In  fact, 
it  seems  to  me  that  this  room  would  look  strange  to  these 
children  if  they  could  not  see  here  the  face  of  their  beloved 
Mr.  Brown.  If  he  were  living  this  morning,  we  know  where  he 
would  be;  but  somehow  I  feel  this  morning  that  he  is  still  with 
us  and  that  as  he  witnesses  this  occasion  it  brings  joy  to  his  soul 
to  know  that  one  of  his  nephews  has  been  thoughtful  enough  to 
present  this  gift  to  this  Sunday  School  and  thereby  make  it  possible 
for  us  to  have  with  us  forever  a  symbol  of  his  presence  among  us. 
I  know  that  it  would  please  him  to  abide  with  us  and  to  know 
that  even  his  likeness  is  still  near  this  rostrum;  and  with  his  own 
eye  he  can  continue  to  look  into  our  faces  and  continue  to  follow 
through  these  aisles  the  foot  steps  of  these  little  children  whom  he 
loved  so  dearly.  It  is  the  hope  and  prayer  of  the  donors  of  this 
picture  that  it  may  forever  be  an  inspiration  and  a  blessing  to 
this  Sunday  School  and  to  all  those  who  worship  at  this  place. 

[62] 


ADDRESS 

of 

Rev.  W.  A.  Stanbury 


AT  A  MEMORIAL  SERVICE  HELD  IN  THE  CHAPEL 
AT  DUKE  UNIVERSITY,  DURHAM 


FEBRUARY    23,    1927 


[Note  :  At  a  Memorial  Service  held  in  the  chapel  at  Duke  University, 
Durham,  February  23,  1927,  one  of  the  addresses  was  delivered  by 
Rev.  W.  A.  Stanbury,  pastor  of  Edenton  Street  Church.  This  address 
follows :] 


A  LIFE  NOBLY  PLANNED 

In  a  little  poem  written  as  a  tribute  to  his  wife  more  than  a 
hundred  years  ago,  William  Wordsworth  said,  giving  his  concep- 
tion of  a  perfect  woman  : 

"The  reason  firm,  the  temperate  will, 
Endurance,  foresight,  strength,  and  skill ; 
A  perfect  woman,  nobly  planned 
To  warn,  to  comfort,  and  command." 

It  has  not  been  our  lot  to  see  a  man  to  whom  such  a  description  of 
perfection  might  have  been  more  fittingly  applied  than  Mr.  Joseph 
G.  Brown.  His  very  appearance,  his  manner,  and  all  his  conduct 
bore  witness  that  he  was  "nobly  planned."  He  came  into  the 
world  with  a  goodly  heritage,  which  heritage  he  husbanded  and 
added  to  for  seventy-three  years,  not  wasting  even  the  smallest 
fraction  of  it.  Strong,  far-seeing,  skilled  in  the  highest  arts  of 
life,  he  commanded  without  seeming  to  do  so,  and  brought  comfort 
and  assurance  to  human  souls  with  no  apparent  effort.  In  what- 
ever group  he  was  found,  he  was  easily  first.  If  there  was  a 
gathering  of  bankers — and  he  was  a  banker — he  was  first  among 
them.  If  he  attended  a  dinner  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  he 
was  easily  distinguished  above  all  others  present.  If  he  was  in  a 
group  of  educators,  while  he  might  not  have  laid  claim  to  the 
profound  learning  and  specialization  of  experts  and  scientists,  in 
wide  understanding  of  life  and  in  enthusiasm  for  sound  learning 
and  right  education  he  was  not  excelled  by  any  of  them.  If  he  was 
in  a  group  of  religious  leaders  of  his  own  church  or  other  churches, 
there  was  no  man  who  stood  above  him. 

Through  nearly  twenty  years  it  was  my  privilege  to  know  him. 
And  from  the  first  to  the  last,  I  was  impressed  with  the  soundness 
and  balance  of  the  man.  There  were  no  shadows  or  spots  of 
suspicion  in  him.  Through  and  through  he  was  what  a  man  ought 
to  be.  There  was  nothing  to  hide,  or  of  which  he  ever  had  cause  to 
be  ashamed. 


^Address  of  ^Hev.  cl&.  yL.  Stanbury 


To  us  all  it  was  a  constant  marvel  how  finely  balanced  were  all 
the  powers  and  concerns  of  his  wide-flung  life.  Most  of  us  are 
one-sided,  lop-sided  beings.  But  he  seemed  fully  rounded  on  all 
sides,  with  nothing  left  out  or  dwarfed,  so  that  every  element  of 
his  being  stood  in  just  relation  to  all  the  rest,  and  did  not  suffer 
disturbance  or  confusion,  whatever  shock  might  come  to  him.  No 
one  ever  saw  him  in  panic  or  thrown  out  of  plumb.  In  complete 
possession  of  all  his  splendid  powers,  he  met  every  new  demand 
with  such  calm  and  sureness  as  were  the  amazement  of  those  whose 
souls  had  not  found  the  secret  which  he  knew.  In  such  poise  and 
with  ever-increasing  and  never-failing  vigor,  he  moved  always 
forward  and  stood,  when  the  call  to  depart  came,  at  the  highest 
level  of  personal  majesty  and  influence  that  he  had  yet  reached. 

If  the  reason  for  such  soundness  and  sureness  of  life  be  asked,  it 
must  be  acknowledged  that  none  of  us  can  tell  why  completely. 
Invisible  forces  beyond  the  reach  of  this  narrow  life  play  their 
part  in  ways  we  cannot  measure,  to  produce  such  worth  and  such 
stuff  of  life.  But  let  it  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Brown  was  a  man 
of  ideals.  He  did  not  boast  of  them.  He  did  not  even  speak  of 
them,  unless  pressed  to  do  so.  But  no  one  who  knew  him  even 
slightly  ever  doubted  that  he  kept  before  him  as  a  goal  to  be  striven 
towards  the  highest  in  thought  and  character  and  service.  He  was 
one 

"Whose  high  endeavors  are  an  inward  light 
That  makes  the  path  before  him  always  bright ; 

^c  tj;  :J:  ^  :£ 

He  labors  good  on  good  to  fix,  and  owes 
To  virtue  every  triumph  that  he  knows." 

When  other  men  were  uncertain  and  flirted  with  the  temptations 
of  compromise,  when  they  yielded  to  the  subtle  bids  for  profit  and 
advantage,  he  stood  for  right.  He  seemed  never  to  have  had  to 
debate  the  question  as  between  right  and  wrong,  justice  and 
injustice.  The  process  of  reasoning  as  between  the  two,  or  as  to 
what  was  right,  seemed  to  have  been  carried  through  long  before, 


[66] 


^Address  of  ^Rev.  clo).  ^A.  S^anouiy 


and  decision  stood  ready  at  the  moment.  Quite  gentle  towards 
those  who  might  differ,  he  stood  erect  with  a  vigorous  sense  of 
right,  and  in  defense  of  right  never  hesitated  to  strike  such  blows 
as  needed  to  he  struck,  which  blows  were  all  the  more  telling 
because  they  were  backed  by  love.  Without  anger,  without  malice, 
without  fear,  he  knew  at  once  how  to  be  indignant  against  wrong 
and  how  to  win  to  the  side  of  truth  those  who  were  mistaken. 
Men  were  never  offended  or  affronted  by  his  insistence  upon  right 
and  justice  and  the  highest;  but  no  man  ever  doubted  that  he 
cherished  the  loftiest  ideals,  or  that  he  had  the  courage  to  stand 
unflinchingly  for  them. 

And  then  he  kept  all  the  way  through  the  spirit  of  youth.  The 
idealism,  the  hopefulness,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  youth  never 
departed  from  him.  In  the  years  of  life  when  so  many  men  let 
down  below  the  level  of  their  early  ideals,  he  held  up  and  held 
true,  refusing  to  be  disillusioned  or  to  grow  hard  and  merely 
practical.  His  openness  of  mind  and  his  freshness  of  view  were 
written  upon  his  face.  Young  men  and  women,  who  by  the 
thousands  passed  under  his  care  in  Sunday  School  and  in  other 
places,  found  in  him  one  who  understood,  who  was  not  impatient 
with  the  hot  impetuousness  of  young  blood,  and  who  sympathized 
with  youthful  hope.  Through  fifty  years  they  came  to  him,  giving 
him  their  closest  confidence  and  asking  his  advice  not  as  one  who 
stood  superior  and  aloof,  but  as  one  of  their  own  company.  To  the 
last  his  mind  was  awake  to  fresh  ideas  and  new  proposals  and 
friendly  to  all  steps  of  progress.  He  was  ready  for  adventure,  and 
while  always  wise  and  careful,  never  went  upon  the  assumption 
that  caution  is  the  better  part  of  valor.  Among  the  last  things 
he  did  were  to  plan  larger  things  for  the  banking  business  with 
which  he  had  been  connected  for  more  than  half  a  century,  to  map 
out  new  things  for  his  Sunday  School  and  Church  to  do,  and  to 
participate  in  this  great  adventure  of  education  here,  in  which  Ave 
all  hope  to  have  some  little  part.    The  last  thing  he  did  was  to  call 


[67] 


^Address  of  ^Rev.  clo).  _A.  §)tai%bury 


the  names  of  two  new-born  babies,  enrolled  that  day  in  the  Sunday 
School  of  which  for  sixty-five  years  he  had  been  a  member,  and 
nearly  thirty  years  Superintendent. 

Another  secret  of  his  power  was  his  capacity  for  friendship. 
Those  who  had  but  slight  acquaintance  with  him  felt  intuitively 
that  he  was  their  friend.  Those  who  knew  him  best  looked  upon 
him  as  their  best  friend.  Over  and  over  again  as  I  have  walked 
the  streets  of  Raleigh  since  his  passing,  men  who  come  from  all 
walks  of  life  have  said  to  me,  "He  was  the  best  friend  I  ever  had." 
When  we  gathered  at  the  Church  under  whose  tower  he  had  so 
long  worshipped,  old  men  trembling  with  age  and  shaken  with 
grief  mingled  their  tears  with  the  tears  of  mere  boys  and  girls, 
because  they  had  lost  a  friend.  Men  who  handled  millions,  and 
women  who  have  known  only  luxury,  sat  beside  those  who  have 
known  only  poverty  and  pain,  and  all  mourned  together  because 
they  had  lost  a  friend.  Men  have  always  felt  and  acknowledged 
the  power  of  those  in  whose  hearts  dwell  the  elements  that  make 
them  to  be  friend  to  other  people.  I  once  heard  Mr.  Brown 
referred  to  as  the  best  beloved  man  in  North  Carolina.  I  think 
the  statement  was  justified. 

Sound  and  finely  balanced,  urged  on  by  the  highest  ideals, 
seventy-three  years  old,  but  always  young,  broadly  gathering  into 
his  affections  all  who  wanted  a  friend,  whatever  their  class,  con- 
dition, or  creed,  Mr.  Brown  kept  at  the  very  heart  and  center  of 
life  a  simple  and  mighty  faith  in  God.  His  religion  did  not  obtrude 
itself.  It  rather  shone.  It  did  not  employ  many  words,  but  when 
words  were  needed,  they  were  not  lacking  and  were  spoken  with 
sincerity.  Tolerant,  broad-minded,  kind  to  all  who  differed,  he  yet 
knew  in  Whom  he  believed  and  did  not  doubt.  More  real  to  him 
than  the  gray  walls  of  the  bank  where  he  worked  so  long,  more 
real  to  him  than  the  trees  of  Nash  Square  under  whose  branches 
he  went  to  and  fro  on  his  journeys  to  business  and  back  home, 
more  real  to  him  indeed  than  the  Sunday  School  where  each 
Sunday  morning  a  thousand  pupils  looked  to  him  for  leadership, 


[68] 


.Address  of  ^ev.  clo).  yl.  ^tanbury 


or  the  Church  whose  walls  he  saw  rise  in  early  manhood  and  whose 
every  moment  of  history  he  loved — more  real  than  all  of  these  was 
his  religious  experience. 

As  trustful  as  a  child,  and  as  strong  as  a  martyr,  he  followed 
implicitly  in  the  steps  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Four  years  ago  when 
he  thought  death  was  near,  he  wrote  to  his  wife :  "I  am  not 
uneasy  or  worried.  If  the  end  comes — as  come  it  must  before 
many  years — He  will  be  with  me.  Notwithstanding  all  my  un- 
worthiness,  I  have  implicit  faith  in  Him  and  in  His  abounding 
mercy  and  love.''  I  remember  saying  in  a  conversation  with  a 
friend  sixteen  years  ago,  "Mr.  Joe  Brown  is  the  best  argument  for 
the  Christian  religion  I  know."  I  have  not  had  occasion  to  revise 
that  judgment  since.  There  was  no  activity  or  contact  in  all  the 
varied  interests  of  his  life  which  did  not  feel  and  transmit  the 
sweetness  and  power  of  this  beautiful  thing  which  lived  in  his 
heart. 

If  you  could  have  been  a  student  at  old  Trinity  in  1871,  and  if 
you  had  looked  over  the  roll-books  of  the  old  college,  you  would 
have  found  the  name  of  Joseph  Gill  Brown  of  Raleigh.  It  would 
not  have  meant  much  to  you  then.  You  would  have  said,  "He  is 
another  one  who  has  come  to  be  enrolled  in  the  freshman  class." 
But  through  the  years  that  name  has  been  gathering  influence  and 
beauty  in  this  State  and  this  nation.  It  was  changed  by  those  who 
knew  him  and  ultimately  by  everybody  to  "Joe  Brown."  And 
today  that  name  stands  as  the  synonym  and  summary  of  what  is 
best  in  the  social,  economic,  and  religious  life  of  this  common- 
wealth, and  as  the  expression  in  concrete  figure  of  the  ideals 
which  we  should  all  like  to  see  this  University  hold  before  herself, 
and  perpetuate  in  the  world.  To  that  name  wrought  into  the 
great  spiritual  body  of  this  University  and  of  her  sons  and 
daughters  everywhere,  we  do  honor  today.  We  thank  God  for 
the  gift  of  this  man  to  us,  and  gird  ourselves  that  we  may  carry  on. 


[69] 


RESOLUTIONS 


[Note:  These  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  various  organizations 
and  official  boards  of  the  Church.] 


RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED  BY 

THE  BOARD  OF  STEWARDS 
February  8,  1927. 

Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Stewards  of  Edenton  Street 
Methodist  Church  record  with  great  sorrow  the  passing  of  its 
fellow  member,  Joseph  Gill  Brown,  identified  with  the  work  of 
the  Church  for  more  than  three  score  years.  It  grieves  with  the 
family  in  the  great  loss  which  has  come  to  them  and  the  Church. 
A  man  of  unusual  physical,  mental,  and  soulful  personality;  quiet 
in  manner,  wise  in  counsel,  faithful  to  every  trust,  persevering  in 
good  works,  he,  like  St.  Paul  when  he  faced  the  Great  Beyond, 
could  say :  "I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course, 
I  have  kept  the  faith ;  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown 
of  righteousness." 

Further,  that  it  is  peculiarly  fitting  that  this  Board,  with  whom 
he  labored  for  so  many  years  and  to  whose  work  he  gave  so  freely  of 
his  substance  and  counsel,  should  perpetuate  on  its  record  a  page 
to  his  memory,  voicing  our  great  love  for  him  and  the  inspiration 
and  value  he  has  been  to  us,  the  Church,  and  the  State. 

Few  men  possessed  such  lovable  characteristics  as  were  his  and 
rendered  such  faithful  and  valuable  sendee  to  his  fellowmen:  a 
man,  who  in  letter  and  spirit  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  the 
Man  of  Galilee.  In  him  the  great  Christian  virtues  of  Faith, 
Hope,  and  Charity  took  root  in  boyhood,  and  grew  and  flowered  in 
the  fulness  of  their  beauty  in  his  manhood. 

In  his  going  from  our  midst  there  is  imposed  upon  each  and 
every  one  a  greater  responsibility,  and,  to  meet  it,  we  hereby 
reconsecrate  and  rededicate  our  lives  to  greater  service  in  the 
Master's  vineyard  in  order  that  there  may  be  no  lowering  of  the 
high  ideals  which  he  held  up,  not  let-up  in  the  forward  move  of 
the  Church  in  which  he  was  such  an  inspiring  figure. 

No  monument  of  brass  or  marble  or  precious  stones  is  needed  to 
perpetuate  his  memory.  Any  inscription  that  may  be  chiseled  on 
cold  marble  or  stone  to  portray  his  many  virtues  will  be  but  a 
faint  and  imperfect  reproduction  of  the  epitaph  which  he  himself 
has  already  indelibly  written  on  the  hearts  of  all  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact — an  epitaph  written  by  the  finger  of  God. 

C.  A.  Dillon,  Chairman. 
C.  C.  Cunningham,  Secretary. 


Resolutions 


RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED  BY 

FIRST  QUARTERLY  CONFERENCE 

March  8,  1927. 

Whereas  Mr.  Joseph  G.  Brown  was  for  fifty  years  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Stewards  of  this  Church,  and,  therefore,  a  member  of 
this  Quarterly  Conference;  and 

Whereas  he  was  for  approximately  the  same  length  of  time  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees;  and 

Whereas  he  was  for  twenty-seven  years,  and  for  twenty-three 
years  continuously,  Superintendent  of  this  Sunday  School;  and 

Whereas,  throughout  this  long  period  of  official  relationship  to 
our  work,  he  rendered  a  service  quite  unparalleled  and  beyond  all 
words  to  define  or  describe ;  and 

Whereas,  by  his  personal  qualities  of  friendship,  companion- 
ableness,  and  unselfish  love,  he  endeared  himself  to  our  entire 
community;  and 

Whereas  his  ripe  wisdom,  deep  devotion,  and  all  other  of  his 
unusual  powers  and  qualities  were  given  without  stint  in  the 
service  of  this  Church  and  Sunday  School :    Therefore, 

Be  it  Resolved,  by  this  Quarterly  Conference: 

That  in  his  death,  which  occurred  on  January  30,  1927,  we  have 
sustained  a  loss  which  we  cannot  put  into  words ;  and 

That  while  we  are  stricken  with  grief  which  we  are  unable  to 
express,  we  thank  God  for  the  gift  which  He  made  to  us 
individually  and  as  a  Christian  community  in  the  life  and  service 
of  Mr.  Brown;  and 

That  we  extend  assurances  of  our  deep  sympathy  to  all  members 
of  his  family;  and 

That  we  pledge  ourselves  afresh  to  the  work  of  this  Church 
which  Mr.  Brown  served  so  long  and  devotedly,  and,  by  the  help 
of  God,  to  those  spiritual  ideals  which  were  so  beautiful  and  so 
dominating  a  force  in  his  life. 

Signed,  and  respectfully  submitted, 

John  W.  Evans 

W.  G.  Womble 

J.  Martin  Fleming. 


Resolutions 


RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED  BY 

EDENTON  STREET  METHODIST  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

February  13,  1927. 

(Mr.  Josephus  Daniels  read  the  following  resolutions  which  were  drawn 
up  by  a  committee  composed  of  Dr.  Albert  Anderson  and  Mr. 
Daniels. ) 

!Not  many  weeks  ago,  by  official  action,  Joseph  Gill  Brown 
was  elected  Superintendent  of  Edenton  Street  Methodist  Sunday 
School  "for  life."  It  was  a  formal  recognition  of  his  long  and 
whole-hearted  dedication  of  himself  to  the  direction  of  the  child 
life  of  this  Church.  It  was  also  an  expression  of  the  love  that 
welled  up  in  every  heart  to  our  Superintendent  and  of  gratitude 
for  the  benediction  of  fellowship  with  him. 

Joseph  G.  Brown's  connection  with  this  Sunday  School  was 
about  co-equal  with  his  life.  With  that  quiet  humor  and  sweet- 
ness characteristic  of  him,  Mr.  Brown  once  said  he  was  born  on 
Sunday  morning  about  9  o'clock,  hastened  to  be  on  time  for  Sunday 
School,  and  had  made  it  a  rule  ever  since  never  to  be  late.  Cer- 
tainly there  is  no  member  of  this  Sunday  School  who  can 
remember  when  he  was  not  here,  giving  glad  welcome  to  new- 
comers and  cheerful  greeting  to  old  and  young,  stimulating  them 
to  the  study  of  the  Word  and  to  making  the  Bible  the  light  to 
their  pathway.  In  this  more  than  three  score  years  when  he  was 
rarely  absent,  and  never  absent  when  it  was  possible  to  be  present, 
he  touched  the  lives  of  many  thousands,  young  and  old.  He  never 
touched  any  life  that  was  not  blessed  by  association  with  him. 

The  sorrow  of  this  company  of  Bible  students  cannot  be 
assuaged,  but  if  any  reflection  could  lessen  the  grief  it  would  be 
that  our  Superintendent  and  friend  never  grew  old.  The  springs 
of  youth  and  faith  were  fed  from  the  Source  of  Strength  in  his 
whole  life.  He  was  the  comrade  of  those  upon  whose  heads  the 
snow  that  never  melts  had  fallen,  and  his  cheerfulness  gave  them 
a  new  zest.  He  was  the  coworker  of  those  in  active  life,  and  his 
example  gave  them  the  enthusiasm  of  youth.    He  was  the  confidant 


[75] 


Resolutions 


and  friend  of  young  people,  who  obtained  strength  and  faith  from 
him.  He  was  the  beloved  of  little  children  because  he  followed 
the  example  of  his  Lord,  and  found  delight  in  their  wonderment 
and  never-ending  charm.  He  was  made  happier  by  their  simple 
faith.  He  was  more  than  the  beloved  friend  and  leader  of  all  in 
this  Sunday  School :  he  was  in  a  very  real  way  its  founder  in  its 
larger  life.  Half  a  century  ago  the  Sunday  School  was  called 
"the  nursery  of  the  Church"  and  attendance  was  confined  to  chil- 
dren and  a  few  teachers  who  shepherded  them.  Under  Mr.  Brown's 
leadership  the  Sunday  School  outgrew  the  Church  in  membership 
and  became  a  vital  center  of  religious  life. 

His  organizing  talent  was  scarcely  less  than  his  gift  of  drawing 
out  the  love  and  devotion  of  his  associates.  He  found  this  a  place 
of  a  few  consecrated  teachers  and  a  few  score  children.  Under  his 
inspiration  and  guardianship  he  made  it  a  vital  institution  of 
religious  instruction  and  a  dynamo  of  good  works.  From  the 
cradle  roll  to  the  post  graduate  course,  Mr.  Brown  lifted  the 
Sunday  School  to  the  high  plane  of  a  teaching  body.  He  deemed 
knowledge  of  the  Bible  the  very  mudsill  of  Christianity  and 
civilization.  He  kept  abreast  with  the  best  and  most  modern 
methods,  introduced  them  here,  and  gave  himself  to  making  them 
contribute  to  both  the  moral  and  mental  fibre  of  the  membership 
of  this  School.  His  guidance  in  better  methods  was  only  excelled 
by  his  example  of  pure  living.  He  preached  brief  sermons  and 
gave  wise  admonition  and  called  children  by  word  to  the  conse- 
cration of  themselves  to  the  Savior  to  whom  he  had  early  com- 
mitted himself  and  all  he  had  or  hoped  to  be;  but  the  sermon  that 
attracted  and  strengthened  and  buoyed  most  was  his  own  beautiful 
life.  Upon  his  countenance  rested  the  glow  of  a  life  unsullied  in 
youth,  untainted  in  manhood,  and  glorified  as  he  moved  toward 
the  sunrise  of  an  assured  immortality. 

It  is  the  hall-mark  of  love  when  a  man's  name  is  shortened. 
In  this  Sunday  School  everybody  referred  to  our  Superintendent 
as  "Joe  Brown"  and  children  called  him  Mr.  "Joe"  Brown.     He 


[76] 


Resolutions 


invited  by  his  own  abounding  fellowship  the  affection  which  he 
irradiated.  The  abounding  love  he  gave  came  back  to  him  full, 
heaped  up,  and  running  over. 

Young  and  old  instinctively  felt  that  he  understood  them  and 
their  problems.  They  knew  he  rejoiced  in  their  joy  and  sorrowed 
with  them  in  trouble.  More  than  all,  we  loved  him  because  he 
stood  among  us  a  loving  figure  with  tenderness  and  with  granite- 
like strength.  He  was  comfort  to  the  weary,  poise  to  the  wavering, 
support  to  the  weak.  He  truly  "wore  the  white  flower  of  a 
blameless  life,"  attesting  that  he  had  found  the  Pearl  of  Great 
Price. 

If  it  had  been  granted  to  our  beloved  Superintendent  to  choose 
the  manner  of  his  passing,  no  end  of  earthly  pilgrimage  could 
have  been  more  fitting.  As  he  welcomed  the  entrance  of  a  new- 
born babe  into  the  Cradle  Roll  the  summons  came,  for  which 
he  was  ready.  With  the  trusting  faith  of  a  child,  he  looked  for 
the  last  time  into  the  loved  faces  before  him  in  this  Sunday  School, 
and,  without  pain  or  struggle,  entered  into  the  rest  prepared  for 
the  people  of  God.  His  life  was  a  benediction.  His  death  was  in 
keeping  with  a  life  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 

Sorrowing  that  we  shall  see  his  face  no  more  in  this  hallowed 
place,  the  membership  of  this  Sunday  School  places  on  record  its 
devout  thanksgiving  to  the  Heavenly  Father  for  His  gift  to  this 
School  of  this  royal  Christian  leader.  His  life  was  a  blessing 
while  with  us,  and  will  be  an  inspiration  as  we  endeavor  to  follow 
him  in  faith  and  works  as  he  followed  Jesus  Christ. 


[77] 


Resolutions 


RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED  BY 

THE  MOTHERS'  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE 
SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

His  was  a  glorious  and  triumphant  passing  into  the  Home  of 
the  blessed — a  passing  such  as  only  God's  angels  can  plan. 

We  cannot  estimate  our  loss.  We  shall  miss  his  happy  face  and 
his  cheerful  words,  hut  the  memory  of  his  sweet  spirit  of  loyalty 
and  unselfishness,  of  modesty  and  optimism,  will  linger  with  us 
always  as  an  inspiration  and  a  benediction.  He  never  found  evil 
in  anyone;  the  good  alone  filled  his  own  soul.  We  bless  the  Lord 
for  giving  us  the  privilege  of  walking  with  this  man  of  God. 

And  when  his  summons  came,  the  good  which  had  radiated  so 
gently  from  him  throughout  life  awoke  a  universal  chord,  and  all 
who  knew  him  in  every  walk  of  life  knew  they  loved  him.  He  has 
left  us  the  priceless  heritage  of  a  spotless  name. 

"Twilight  and  evening  bell, 

And  after  that  the  dark, 
And  may  there  be  no  sadness  of  farewell 

When  I  embark; 
For  tho'  from  out  our  bourne  of  Time  and  Place 

The  flood  may  bear  me  far, 
I  hope  to  see  my  Pilot  face  to  face 

When  I  have  crossed  the  bar." 


[78] 


Cfle  s  o  I  u  t  i  o  n  s 


RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED  BY 

THE  WORKERS'  COUNCIL  OF  THE 
SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

February  14,  1927. 

Whereas,  in  the  death  of  our  beloved  Superintendent,  Mr.  Joseph 
Gc.  Brown,  who  for  more  than  thirty  years  was  our  matchless 
leader  and  ever  willing  counsellor;  and 

Whereas,  in  his  death  we  are  deeply  grieved  and  feel  a  loss  that 
is  irreparable;  and 

Whereas,  we  shall  miss  his  friendly  greeting,  his  smiling  face, 
his  warm  handclasp,  his  sympathetic  understanding,  his  wise 
counsel  and  above  all  his  efficient  leadership :  Therefore, 

Be  it  Resolved: 

1.  That  we  the  members  of  the  "Workers'  Council  of  Edenton 
Street  Sunday  School,  in  love  and  grateful  appreciation  of  the 
benediction  which  his  life  has  been  to  this  Church  and  community, 
reconsecrate  our  lives  to  the  service  of  God,  the  Church,  and  the 
community,  as  his  life  was  consecrated. 

2.  That  we  carry  on  with  a  new  sense  of  loyalty  and  devotion 
the  work  that  was  so  dear  to  his  heart  and  for  which  he  labored  so 
wisely  and  well. 

3.  That  we  spread  on  our  minutes  a  copy  of  these  resolutions, 
that  a  copy  be  sent  to  the  bereaved  family,  and  that  copies  be  sent 
to  the  North  Carolina  Christian  Advocate,  the  News  &  Observer, 
and  the  Raleigh  Evening  Times. 

Vara  L.  Herring 
Bessie  T.  Brown 
Mattie  F.  Reese 
Mrs.  S.  P.  Norris 

Committee. 

[79] 


L.  13.  Cat. 

Mo.  !!37 

923.573      3873      113420 

Benton   Sty  K.±.    Church,    3- 
Ralei.gh.I-T.C. 


923373      3878        113420 


